


Her Time To Shine

by WildRiverInTheSky



Series: Her Time to Shine [1]
Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-20
Updated: 2020-08-24
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:01:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 42
Words: 92,597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26011564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WildRiverInTheSky/pseuds/WildRiverInTheSky
Summary: Has a strong Serena. Total re-imagining of the breakup arc (very little angst, lots of personal growth), the Black Moon Clan (No ChibiUsa), and Darien's Generals. It starts with Serena deciding to try to get Darien the perfect gift: his Generals back. While she is distracted with that, he is pulling away over constant nightmares of her death. Rated: M language & situationsThe story is complete.
Relationships: Chiba Mamoru/Tsukino Usagi
Series: Her Time to Shine [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1894426
Kudos: 23





	1. A Plan In Motion

blueeyeddevil06 thank you for being my beta!

Chapter 1 – A Plan in Motion

Serena dashed into Darien's apartment after unlocking his door with her key. He had once mentioned finding stones that matched the names of the Dark Generals after each of their defeats. At the time in the planning meeting when he mentioned that, she grew curious. Ever since then she had been quietly obsessing over what it could possibly mean. She kept quiet, and no one else seemed to have even thought twice about it.

She dug through his closet. She knew they had to be in there. With how meticulous he kept his whole apartment, it was the only place she could think of him storing the rocks. Sure enough, right behind an incredibly ugly hat, she found a box with the stones inside. Not wanting to alert him to the fact that they were gone, she placed the four stones in a zippered pocket in her purse and put the box back. She contemplated throwing out the hat, but that would alert him that someone had gone through his closet shelf. She sighed as she put the hat back. She whispered, "At least I haven't seen him ever wear it before."

She left his apartment and made sure to lock the door behind her. As she exited the apartment building, she waived to the door man and smiled at him. She then took a left on the sidewalk and tried not to skip on her way home. All of her ideas buzzed in her head and she grew even more excited and hopeful. She had at least four good ideas so far and one completely silly one on how to use the stones. She laughed to herself and decided if those did not work, the stones could always make a pretty necklace.

As Serena walked down the street, she didn't notice that people kept glancing at her and smiling. She never realized how she drew others in with her joy. Even strangers saw it, were drawn in, and left to go about their day a little bit happier than before they encountered her. Even the door man from Darien's apartment building was currently remarking to the mail woman what a sweet girl Serena is and how lucky Darien was to have her.

Once she got home and kissed her mother on the cheek, she dashed upstairs and shut her door. Luna snapped awake and looked at Serena.

Luna asked, "What has you so excited today, Serena?"

"I am working on a present for Darien, and I got a big part of it today. I have been thinking about it for a while, and I am excited to see if I can give him the best gift he could ever receive." After all, what is a better gift than to restore his four closest friends and confidants. While she loved that she was one of two that he ever really desired to talk to, she couldn't be selfish with him. She wanted to be his world but knew he would be happier if his world was just a bit bigger. After all, she had her Scouts and Molly. How could she not want something like that for him?

"What did you get him?"

"Nope, not telling! I am not even sure it will work, and I want it to be a surprise. Really, it will sort of be a surprise for everyone, and I am afraid to get everyone's hopes up."

"Serena, I really think you should bring me in on this. You know you struggle to complete anything you start. Just two days ago I asked you to put together a list of potential targets."

"I gave you the list of three!"

"You gave me two great potential targets, and then for number three, wrote and I quote 'whatever event Molly is going to next.'"

"I argue that number three is the most solid lead we have. I can call her right now and ask where she is going. Then I will write it down on that dumb list for you."

"Amy, Lita, Mina, and even Raye gave me great lists that included at least ten potential targets EACH. Serena, you really need to take this seriously. I understand Darien is your boyfriend, but you really need to spend less time coming up with the perfect gift. You need to spend more time on your Sailor Moon duties. You need to take this more seriously!"

Serena sighed and grew frustrated. She knew she was trying to restore the Generals and thus actually helping, technically fulfilling her "Sailor Moon duties," but Luna didn't know that. She tried to stay patient, she really did. That was until Luna spoke again.

Luna took her silence as avoidance and shouted, "You cannot just ignore me like you do with every one of your responsibilities you have ever had!"

Now, that went too far for even the sweet Serena, and she screamed, "Get out, get out, get out!" When Luna refused to move, Serena turned around and stomped out of her room, down the stairs, out of the house, and ran down the sidewalk to the park, collapsing on a bench. Digging her fingernails into the palms of her hands, she told herself she wouldn't cry. She demanded of herself that she wouldn't cry even as tears slowly leaked down her face.

Swiping the tears away, she stood up and tried to collect herself only to literally run into one of her fellow classmates. As always, she didn't see how she affected those around her. Mark regarded her and desperately wanted to help her and ease her pain. He collected himself and tried to figure out what to say.

Mark asked, "Serena, are you okay? Why are you crying, and can I do anything to help you?"

"Thank you. No, I'm okay. Don't worry about me."

"But, I am worried. You don't have to tell me what is bothering you, but I really would like to help you."

"Actually, I'm just angry. A friend of mine is constantly telling me I'm not trying hard enough and that I'm lazy. I got angry and stormed off after she did it again."

"She sounds like a terrible friend. Wait, you're so angry you're crying?" He asked, not quite believing her.

Serena let out a little huff of a laugh, "It's a girl thing."

"Ooookkkaaayyy."

"Really, it is. Just talking to you has helped a bit. Thank you." She gave him a brilliant smile, and she walked off saying, "Thanks again and I'll see you in class Monday!"

Mark sighed since that didn't go exactly how he wanted it to but walked off in the original direction he was headed. He wasn't sure how he felt. He knew she had a boyfriend but also knew those things change a lot when you're in High School, and he was hoping to get to know her better. He then realized that, even if he didn't ever get to date her, she was the kind of girl you just wanted to lend a helping hand to.

Serena wandered through the park then stopped at the Arcade and talked to Andrew for a bit while she sipped on her milkshake. She paid then made her way over to the Sailor V game and kept feeding it coins for half an hour. Glancing up at the clock when she was done, she decided to head home and be early for dinner.

Dinner with her family was tense that evening. Her father kept insisting she needed a plan for when she finished High School. He wanted to know what jobs she was planning to apply to or what Junior College she was going to try to attend. Serena was exhausted and didn't know how to work her "Sailor Moon duties" around a job or college. She was struggling even now, and it was only High School. She was barely getting enough sleep every night as it was and falling asleep during her classes. Frustrated, she told him she would think about it and went to her room early.

Up in her room, she slouched down at her desk and pulled out her homework. Her books followed soon after, and she started her Math assignment due the next day. Halfway through her second problem, her communicator went off, and she heard Amy on the other end.

"Youma at the park! Everyone please get here quickly."

Serena transformed into Sailor Moon, dashed out her window and down the tree. By the time she got there, Amy and Raye were both pinned to trees, and Lita was struggling to distract the youma while Mina tried to attack it.

Raye was angry, "Where have you been, Moon!? It's about time you got here!"

Serena looked to Raye and dashed over to help her only to suddenly get whisked out of the way by Darien. When she glanced to where she had been standing, there was a small creator.

"Thanks, Tuxedo Mask!" She beamed at him. She then turned and struck at the youma with her tiara, dusting it instantly. Before she could get yelled at by Raye yet again, she dashed off, leaving everyone behind.

Exhausted, Serena climbed up into her window, dropped her transformation, changed into PJs and fell right to sleep.


	2. Ideas and the Bad Night

Blueeyeddevil06 thank you for being my beta!

Chapter 2 – Ideas and the Bad Night

Monday, of course, went terribly for Serena. She finally woke up Monday morning after hitting her snooze button four times and saw her unfinished homework sitting on her desk. Sighing, she quickly got dressed for school and then sat down, managing to finish it. Of course, she was running late, so she packed her things up, grabbed toast for breakfast and dashed out the door. She managed to not run into Darien this morning, but she didn't manage to be on time to school. She dropped off her homework before standing in the hall like her teacher had ordered. The only bright spot was Lita bringing lunch for her since she knew Serena tended to forget her own.

After detention, Serena skipped the Arcade and went straight home. She was glad to notice Luna was out when she went into her room. She excitedly pulled out all four stones and laid them out on her desk. After an hour and a half, her first three ideas hadn't worked. Serena grew frustrated and knew her fourth idea would take more planning. Her silly idea came next, and not surprisingly, begging the stones to "Come out, come out, wherever you are" didn't work. She chuckled and put the four stones away.

Moving on for now, Serena pulled out her homework and managed to only get a small headache working on it, finishing it before dinner. Dinner, which consisted of grilled meats and her father grilling her again. She almost yelled out that she was Sailor Moon. She knew he was right, and she needed a plan. He had no idea the real reason she struggled to come up with what she was going to do with her life. She knew it looked bad to him, and that made it worse. She wasn't trying to be lazy. In fact, she worked very hard. He just didn't know.

Sighing, she went up to her room and locked her door after dinner. She then proceeded to close her window. She pulled out the stones and concentrated on them, trying to feel their energy. She struggled for thirty minutes before she decided to try to feel the individual energy rather than the combined energy. Slowly, she began to feel the energy coming out of the Jadeite. Once she could sense his presence in the stone, she leapt for joy and cut her connection to the stone. Groaning, she sat back down and tried to reestablish the connection. Once that was done, she was stuck on how to proceed. She just couldn't figure how to get that energy out and into a living human. She heard Luna scratching on the window, and she put the stones away before opening the window for Luna.

Luna had apparently talked to Raye about the youma attack yesterday and had quite the long discussion with her regarding Serena, her duties, and how she spent too much time with Darien. Deep down, Luna was terrified. Serena's connection with Darien seemed incredibly strong, and Serena had a history of suicide when faced with his death. Luna desperately wanted Darien to not be her world so that, if something happened to him, there wouldn't be a repeat of one thousand years ago.

Both the Sailor Scouts and the alien cat went to bed frustrated and sad. Neither knew what the other was truly thinking, and neither even had tried to figure it out.

The rest of the week went by quickly. There was one more youma attack at a concert Molly had gone to. Serena tried to point out to Luna that her third youma location had been correct. Luna just shook her head. By Thursday, Serena and Darien met at the Arcade twice. Darien bought her a shake and himself a coffee each time. Both sat quietly stuck in their own thoughts.

By the time Friday rolled around, Serena had decided she was going to surprise Darien at his apartment when he got out of his last class. She was feeling so hopeful since, together with the silver crystal, she was forming a plan on how to restore his Generals. She decided she needed to figure out a way to convince her parents she needed to go away for a long weekend after she graduated soon. Then she could spend time, and mostly energy, pulling them from the stones.

She had hurried home after school deciding the first order of business was a cute outfit and the perfect makeup before heading over to Darien's. She scoured her closet and tossed things on her bed. Finally deciding on what to wear, she put on the cute top and short skirt. She smirked in the mirror and touched up her makeup. She then grabbed her school bag knowing Darien would want to study together before going out to dinner. It was cute to her how seriously he took schoolwork. She didn't mind indulging him. Especially since he rewarded her with kisses.

Darien sighed while entering his apartment building, walking right past the door man who just shook his head. He was exhausted from lack of sleep due to his horrible nightmares he had been having every night. He pressed the button on the elevator and waited for it to open. He wondered what Serena thought of him trying to avoid her lately. He had only hung out with her twice this week, and they barely talked. He saw her at two youma fights, but he left right afterwards trying to avoid a conversation. The door dinged. He went in and pressed the button for his floor. He realized he couldn't take his dreams anymore and hated what he had to do.

Serena waited in anticipation as she heard the door unlock and saw Darien walk into the apartment. Her smile fell when she saw the look in his eyes. She rushed over to him, wrapped him in her arms and kissed his cheek.

"Darien, you look exhausted! We should order in tonight, and I should leave early so you can get a good night's rest."

"Serena, that isn't what I need." This was it; this was the end. He was breaking up with her. He knew he just had to push through. He couldn't take one more night of her dying in his arms on their wedding day. The joy at the beginning of the dream leading into absolute horror and blood. He couldn't watch the blood pour from her mouth as she died in awful pain one more night. He had to end things, and save her. He had to save her life and let her grow old and be happy. Even if it absolutely killed him.

"So, what do you need?" She reached up and kissed his chin.

"I need you to move on. I need you to leave. I realized this week I just don't love you anymore. I just can't keep this up. I can't keep us up."

"Darien, this isn't funny."

"And, it isn't a joke. I need my key back, and I need my life back."

"What did I do wrong? I can fix it. I can fix us. I would do anything for you. You're the love of two lifetimes for me! Please… please tell me what I can do."

"You can give me my key back and leave."

"I'm so sorry. Please forgive me."

"For what?"

"For whatever I did wrong that made you not love me anymore."

"You didn't do anything. It's just over. We arejust over."

"But, you're Endymion!"

"No, I'm Darien, and I asked you to leave."

Darien almost cracked when he accidentally looked into her eyes. The pain and sorrow there floored him for a minute. He sucked in a breath and stayed strong. He contemplated how he was going to get through the next thirty seconds it would take for her to leave. He was so distracted that he only noticed she had pulled out her key when it hit him in the chest and fell to the floor.

Serena turned and slammed the door behind her, sliding down on the other side silently weeping. After a minute, she stood up, flicked her hair back and dried her tears. She very dramatically thought about how she was walking out of this apartment building for the last time. She got down to the door man and managed a small smile to say goodbye. She then turned left to head home to a night she knew would be full of tears.


	3. A Father's Wish

Blueeyeddevil06 thank you for being my beta. You're a huge help!

Chapter 3 – A Father's Wish

Serena chuckled as she made her way from the train to the bus. She had her uncle's address written down, and she checked it for the eighth time. Here she was, making her way to her favorite uncle and excited for the first time in months. Once she graduated high school, she knew she needed to get away a bit and get a job. That decision was made for her about a week after the breakup when Darien showed up at the Arcade with a pretty woman about his age smiling and laughing on his arm. She never even made it into the Arcade that day. She decided she would much rather study at the park.

There hadn't been a youma attack in a month, and Serena was increasingly convinced by Raye that she was lazy, always late, and useless. So, one day, she went to her father and told him her idea. She would get out of the city, stay with her Uncle and get a job there. She would get to be more independent with the safety net of family. He was thrilled that she had a plan and jumped on the idea, helping her make it happen.

So here she was, standing outside her uncle's door and knocking. The welcome she received from him was everything she could hope it would be, and she was whisked into the house. Before she knew it, he was showing her the room that would be hers. She adored it and went about putting her things away.

He left her to settle in. She put her clothes in the drawer and in the closet. She tucked the picture of her and Darien under the socks in her sock drawer. She placed her memory box of the things they did together in the closet tucked back behind her shoes. She then pulled out the four stones and placed them on her dresser. No one knew what they meant here, so she didn't worry about laying them out. She then put her toiletries and makeup in the bathroom and finally tucked her luggage under her large bed. She smiled when she was finished, pleased with how efficient she was.

Making her way downstairs, she smelled dinner and rushed down the final steps into the dining room. There, her uncle was just setting dinner on the table.

"Perfect timing, dear niece."

"This smells delicious! You didn't have to go to all this trouble for me! Although, I won't say no to eating it all."

"It's no trouble to welcome you to my home. Especially my favorite niece."

"I'm your only niece."

"See? You're my favorite and technically my least favorite." He chuckled.

"I will just stick with being your favorite." She laughed and hugged him.

They ate, chatted about her trip there, her plans and how high school had gone. She asked about his work, and he gave her vague answers. To her, it seemed to be the answer of a man who didn't want her to realize he had a boring job. So, the topic moved on. After their meal, they had a fabulous dessert, and then they cleaned up together.

As they put the last dish away, he announced, "I have found a job for you if you want it. You can start as soon as you would like."

"My father will be thrilled to hear that!"


	4. The Others

Blueeyeddevil06 thank you for being my beta!

Chapter 4 – The Others

Darien got exactly what he had asked for from Serena. She always did anything to please him, apparently even when it secretly crushed him. Everyone noticed the change in his life. Some knew exactly what changed, and others were left guessing. But, everyone knew someone was wrong. Most were kinder to him, but a few, like the door man to his building, were not.

The first week, the door man was quiet, and then Darien brought a girl home to study with after getting a bite to eat at the Arcade. He had taken her there first to make sure Serena knew they were over for good. He never even saw her that day. Then, as they passed the doorman, he made a frustrated noise. Ever since then, he noticed the angry look in his eye.

One month after the breakup, he spoke up, "What happened to Serena?"

"We broke up… I broke up with her."

"For such a smart guy, you sure are an idiot. I won't ever get to tell her how much my wife liked the recipe she sent her now, will I? And, you! You think you could do better than her?"

"Wait, she gave you a recipe?"

"Yea, we were chatting, and I mentioned my wife was looking for the perfect dessert to impress my hard-to-impress mother. She visits and looks down her nose at everything no matter what I say to support my wife. I said she just shouldn't come, and Serena said her mom had the perfect recipe for her. The next day, she came and gave it to me. It was the first time my mother has ever said anything in approval of my wife."

"She is always looking out for others all the time. "

"So, why did you break up with her? I saw her leave that day. She looked crushed."

"I just know that, if she stays with me, she can't be happy. I let her go."

"You ran away. That isn't the same thing. Things got hard, and you took off."

"You just don't understand what is really going on."

"I am glad I can't. I don't want to be in a place that can rationalize you breaking that girl's heart. It seems like a selfish place to me."

"If I was selfish, I would have kept her."

"If you were a man, you would have fought for her."

That conversation was still ringing in Darien's ears as he went to bed that night. He didn't go out with another woman again after that.

The day of Serena's graduation, Darien stayed in his apartment. He didn't want to run into her and upset her on her big day. He managed to avoid her by mainly avoiding the Arcade. He was glad that the youma attacks stopped, and he didn't even have to see her in battle.

—

The day the Sailor Team realized she left was a blow to them all. The note was to all of them and incredibly honest.

Girls, Luna and Artemis,

This is goodbye for a while. I have decided that since the youma attacks have stopped, I am going to get away while I still can. I'm sorry I have disappointed you all and have not been the princess any of you had wanted. Raye, I'm sorry I'm not fast or good enough at fighting. Amy, I promise to look into and work on strategies in fighting. Lita, I will continue to work on strength training. Mina, I will work on being a better leader. Luna, I'm sorry I'm so lazy and never keep up with my duties. I will be working on that also. This time away, I will be trying to train and improve myself.

I'm barely holding myself together. I'm managing though, day by day. Darien was supposed to be the love of my lives, and yet, it turns out he was only the love of my past. The love of a past me that apparently no longer exists. As Princess Serenity, I have failed yet again. I'm going away to move on and pull myself together. I'm broken, but not destroyed. I will find a way to keep going and be happy again. I need time away to grow and not constantly face those who I have disappointed.

I promise to be better when I get back. I love you, and I'm sorry to have let you all down.

Serena

They all wept the moment the last word was read. All felt they were pushing her to get better, not pushing her away. Yet here they were, faced with a princess that they helped break. And now, it was up to them to make sure things were good for her in town when she came back to them. Whenever that may be.

The Sailor Team met the very next day to discuss what each had said to Serena about her abilities. They were all shocked to find out that they all had gotten after her, each believing they were the only one doing it. They discovered the magnitude of what it would have appeared like to her.

Raye quietly thought that, really, this was all for the best. The youma were gone for now, and Serena was gone and would hopefully come back with a better attitude. The only thing that bothered Raye about her leaving was the way in which she left. She didn't think any of them should feel guilty, and she resented that Serena, leaving with nothing more than a letter delivered though Luna, made them feel that way. She would have loved to point out the fact to Serena's face that they were right. She knew there would be time for pointing that out later though.

Luna was secretly very glad that Darien's influence in her life wouldn't result in her death this time.

—

Serena's father was thrilled she had moved away and was looking for a job. He was afraid she would never use her talents and would not live up to her potential. He knew his brother would help her and push her to do better. It was to the point she needed to hear it from someone else. Maybe she would listen.

Her mother missed her terribly, but she was excited for her future. Her brother was just glad to get all the attention for once. That was until he got it and felt smothered by his parents. It turned out his sister was good at deflecting his parents overprotectiveness. He quickly learned to miss her.

—

Prince Diamond was furious and almost killed Emerald in anger. Sapphire was able to redirect his furry on a youma passing by. It never stood a chance. Sapphire walked over the dust left behind and addressed Diamond.

"What is the matter, brother?"

"It's Sire! Our progress has stalled! I have found out the delay you were both trying to hide. It will take months extra to get to Earth. I must have Princess Serenity!"

"Of course, you will have her," Sapphire replied. "She is yours for the taking. Darien will have been having those horrible dreams of her death, and he will end things with her. It will take time to get through to him though. We have plenty of time, and the delay will not thwart you. You must expect it will take months for him to give up on her. Then she will need time to get over him. All is still going according to your plan."

"If I find out either you or Emerald are behind this delay, my personal loyalty will not keep me from killing you."

"Sire, we want what you want. We would never go against you. If we even dreamt of hiding anything from you, it would be foolish anyway. You would figure us out immediately, and our deaths would be justified at your hands."

"Of course, you are right. Neither of you could fool me. I would see right through it. Very well. Tell the staff I expect my dinner now." Diamond exited the room, and Emerald followed hoping to gain his favor.

Sapphire let the staff know Diamond was hungry, and Emerald would eat with him. He requested dinner in his own room that night.

As he sat down to his quiet dinner, he ran through his plans in his head. The delay he caused was working. He had made sure the nightmares Diamond had him implant in Endymion would be traceable. Diamond was so sure he couldn't be manipulated that it was laughable how easy he made it. He was counting on the fact that Endymion would have someone look to discover the dreams were false. He hoped he was able to give him and Serenity enough time to discover the truth and reconcile."

He knew there was still more work to be done on his end.


	5. Discovery

Blueeyeddevil06 thank you for being my beta

Chapter 5 – Discovery

To say Serena was surprised, was an understatement. The first morning she was to go to work was at a dojo, and she couldn't fathom why her uncle thought she should work there. Sure, she fought youma all the time, but it isn't like she was telling people. She quietly accepted the job since she knew it was really in her best interest. So, she showed up for work and started cleaning the dojo like she was instructed. She agreed to work six days a week, cleaning the dojo and helping as she was needed. She would arrive early and be able to leave late afternoon.

The hours are really what thrilled her. Sure, she hated getting up in the mornings, but it would give her time to work with the stones in the afternoon before her uncle got home from his job. She realized three weeks after Darien broke her heart that the Generals could still be useful, and that she still wanted what was best for Darien. Two weeks later, she entered the anger stage and still realized the Generals would be useful, and the girls would want them back.

So, every morning she woke up and cleaned the dojo, answered calls, helped people sign up for classes and helped in any way she could. And of course, she was quickly valued there. She tripped over things often and managed to spill the dirty mop water every once in a while, but they didn't care. She always fixed her mess and smiled. Everyone she encountered smiled and was glad to have talked to her. There is always an exception though.

That exception came the fourth week on the job by the name of Elias. The owners of the dojo had told her all she had needed to know, and Elias's temper was one of them. He was going through his warmups prior to class, and Serena knocked over the dirty water with her mop bucket for the second time. Elias took a step and slipped in the water before Serena could get it cleaned up.

Elias lost his temper, "What the hell do you think you are doing?! I am a paying customer and you only work here! I should get you fired for this! Stay out of my way before I make you."

"Then make me." Serena answered.

Elias saw red. He attacked her full force head on. Next thing he knew, he was on his stomach with his face pressed into the floor and his arm twisted behind his back.

That week she started staying an extra hour every day for free lessons before she headed home to her stones.

Three weeks later on a Sunday afternoon, her uncle asked to talk to her. They discussed her job, her lessons and how she was liking living there. Then, he asked her about the Generals in the stones, and she almost fell out of her chair.

"The Generals? What Generals?"

"The ones trapped in the stones, Princess Serenity."

Now, she was speechless. She didn't know what she should say to someone who shouldn't know her secret. One who shouldn't know and brought it up so casually.

"Who… are you?!"

"Your uncle. Your father's brother."

"I already know that."

"No, I am Serenity's uncle also."

She was silent again as her uncle let her absorb the news she just received. It was a huge worldview shift to her. It was the first time she lived under the roof of someone who knew what and who she was. That, and the implications of coming face to face with another person from her past life. A life that ended in tragedy and death.

Her uncle spoke again next, "As you know, Queen Serenity sacrificed her own life to give you all a second chance. Your father had died when you were very little, and your mother was an only child. She sent me here too, to be awoken should you have need of me. That is as much as I have been able to figure out of her plan."

Serena quickly spoke up, "How long have you known? How long have you known about me and what I have to do?" It hurt to think he knew, and he didn't step in to help or support her. She had desperately wanted an adult in her life when she discovered who she was.

"I think I was to awaken only if you needed me. If you came to me for help. The first night you arrived, I began having dreams that I now know are from my past on the Moon. I have been 'waking up', it feels like, ever since."

Serena was relieved to hear that and overjoyed to have his help going forward. She asked, "So now what? Now that you know, what do we do?"

"You keep up going to your job. The lessons you receive can only help you fight and protect yourself. Also, we revive those Generals together. I know you must do the majority of the work, but I can help, especially once they are brought back. They will need somewhere to live and identities. I can take care of that."

"What is it exactly that you do again, Uncle?"

"Don't worry about that. I will just take care of it." He winked at her and smiled.

She wanted to press him, but she let it go. She was just too relieved to have help. It also took away a big worry for her. She hadn't figured out what to do once she succeeded.

He continued on, "Next Sunday, you should bring out the stones, and I will see what advice I can give you to help you out to awaken the Generals. I need to do some thinking, and I need to have some paperwork prepared for them."

"Sounds like a great plan, and thank you for helping me. It means a lot to have your support."

She then headed up to her room to let the news fully sink in. She realized that the only other person she had felt like she had them fully on her side through this was Darien, and that relationship didn't even start out that way or end that way. The relief she felt at having her uncle on her side from the beginning was staggering, and she felt incredibly grateful to her mother for sending him to her.

She brushed her hands over the stones. She was excited for any progress she could make, and having his help was definitely more progress than she made on her own in a while. She concentrated on each one at a time trying to convey her hope, her persistence to awaken them, and her deep affection for the men who had once been there for her.

Dinner that night was lighthearted, and they discussed everything but her life as Serenity. Her uncle let that news rest and let her adjust. He knew she would open up about what happened to make her leave everyone and come here on her own.

Over the next work week, Serena did open up to her uncle. She told him about Luna and discovering exactly who she was. She told him about the youma, the fighting and the sleepless nights. She told him about her friends and them discovering their powers. She told him about the arguments and how she felt she had let them down. She did not tell him about Darien, and he wasn't fooled for a second. He just waited and decided to bide his time until it was time to ask about him.

The next Sunday, Serena brought down the stones and placed them on the floor in the living room. Her uncle asked what progress she had made.

"I have managed to feel the life force of each General when I focus on them individually."

"Astounding! So, what is stopping you from bribing them out?"

"I don't know how."

"I know I am risking sounding trite, but maybe you just need to believe you can."

With mirth and sarcasm she stated, "Sure, and the answer was in me all along, and I just need to believe to achieve. You're right. It does sound trite."

"Just remember Occam's razor. Maybe it is that simple."

"What are you talking about? Achem's razor. What is that?"

"It is Occam's razor and the principle is that the simplest solution is usually right."

"Fine. It can't be any stranger than anything I have tried."

"What is the strangest thing you have tried?" He asked, amused.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are."

"You're kidding. Ha! You aren't." He started laughing, and Serena joined him.

"I was getting frustrated, and it made me laugh. At least I haven't turned them into a necklace yet. That was my last-ditch solution."

They both smiled and calmed down. Then she grew quiet and began to concentrate. She focused on the Jadeite stone first. She sensed his life force and whispered that she was trying to bring him back. She then concentrated on not only his life force, but what he looked like. She closed her eyes and pictured him in front of her. She then pictured him restored and unable to be corrupted again. She imagined pulling that image out of the stone and felt a shift. She opened her eyes and gasped.

"Hello, Serenity." Jadeite said bowing.


	6. The Boys Are Back In Town

Thanks to my beta blueeyeddevil06 for going back and editing this whole story.

Chapter 6 – The Boys are back in town

It had all come out. Her relationship with Darien was laid bare for the five men. Her uncle suspected some of it, but the Generals were floored. How Endymion could not love her in every lifetime didn't seem possible. She heavily edited her final conversation with Darien. The editing was for two reasons. One reason was selfish. She didn't want to cry over it anymore. She had cried enough already, and she was trying to be strong. The second reason was selfless. She didn't want the Generals to know how much he hurt her. They were Darien's friends. At least they would be his friends, and she didn't want them to be angry with Darien.

Still, she had noticed their anger, and they seemed to be incandescent with their fury. They knew so many had died for Endymion and Serenity's love. The Moon was decimated due to Beryl's anger and jealousy. They had known then that war was coming, and they hadn't flinched. They believed that the love between the two royals was worth fighting for. Queen Serenity had even given her life for them to have a second chance. Yet, here was Darien giving up everything.

Serena finally addressed what this was all heading to. "We can get you a place in the city. Darien's apartment is easy to find, and his best friend works at the Arcade. It should be easy to find him, let him know you are truly back, and let him know that you remember being his Generals."

"No." Was all Zoisite said.

Nephrite then added, "We aren't going to him. We request that we be allowed to stay with you."

Jadeite, Zoisite, and Kunzite all nodded in agreement.

Her uncle smiled and spoke up, "You are, of course, welcome to stay here at my house as long as you are willing to be two to a room. I would be thrilled to have you here and have your support for Serena." This was going exactly as he had only dared hoped, and he was more than pleased with these men.

That was when a shocked Serena spoke up. "Why would you stay here? You're Darien's Generals." What would cause you to stay with me?"

Kunzite looked her in the eye, "We are Endymion's Generals. We are still loyal to him and I, for one, want to honor our oaths, especially since we broke them in the past."

Serena said, "Beryl forced darkness into you. You can't be held responsible for that. You never broke that oath."

"Nonetheless, we still want to hold true to our oaths." Nephrite stated.

Zoisite spoke up then. "Serena, you said 'oath', but they are correct in saying 'oaths'. Once Endymion fell in love with you, he asked us to voluntarily take another oath."

"He did? What oath? He never told me." Serena asked puzzled.

Jadeite recited from memory, "I, Jadeite, do swear to protect Princess Serenity as if she were Prince Endymion. I swear to guard and protect her with my life. I swear to protect, support, and honor the love between Prince Endymion and Princess Serenity until the end of time."

All four Generals bowed to her and spoke in unison, "I swear it."

Kunzite then looked her in the eye and said, "We are Endymion's Generals. We're staying true to him and staying with you. We cannot serve any form of Endymion that doesn't adore you. That would break one of our oaths to him. We honor him too much to go to this 'Darien'."

Then, Serena spoke her worst fears to the five men. "It has to be me. He is wonderful, and I love him so much. Even now, he means the world to me. I'm lazy, I got bad grades, I am not good at fighting, I'm loud, I'm clumsy, I cry over everything, I'm immature, and I'm just not good enough. Go to him, please. You'll just be disappointed when you get to know me. I must be greatly lacking when you compare me to Serenity."

Her uncle grew furious. "No man should make you feel that way! He is the one lacking. How could he treat you like that?!" His face grew red, and he looked murderous.

"He never treated me that way! He left me with no real reason. He just said he didn't love me. I pieced it together from things others have told me."

That is when her uncle stepped in and explained how the Sailor Scouts and Luna had been treating her. This only served to enrage them further. The ones who were supposed to protect and support her had failed her. It had been such a part of who each girl had been. They didn't know if they would even be able to recognize the women they loved anymore. Only Jadeite wasn't completely surprised about Raye's behavior.

Jadeite grew quiet after hearing about how Raye was still behaving around Serena and grew stone cold after finding out she had dated Darien briefly. He decided there and then he would try to be Serena's strongest protector and defender. And, that was what he grew to be. In the future, some would mistake him to be her boyfriend, but when he could, he always cleared it up. He always explained how he was, in fact, her brother. She would always smile and let it go. Deep down, it brought her immense joy to feel so cared for.

And so, the next month passed. Each day they all spent time together. They also spent a lot of time training and helping Serena learn to better use her powers. Having been a princess in her first life, she didn't have anything to draw on in a fight. So, she trained with them. They laughed and joked together, and slowly over that month, Serena realized she was getting back to herself again. Slowly rediscovering who she was and who she was without Darien.

Diamond paced the room fuming. He was horrible at waiting for what he wanted. His obsession with Serenity and her power spurred him on. "Sapphire! Get over here."

"Yes, Sire," he stated, as he walked to Diamond.

"Tell me Endymion broke up with her. Tell me! I grow impatient to get her."

"Sire, they aren't even living in the same city. They are over. Most importantly, everyone here has been referring to her as your Princess Serenity. It is inevitable. How could she not want to be yours?"

Diamond calmed at this news. "Ha, you're right! She is mine. I just have to reach out and take her."

"Exactly, Sire."

Sapphire walked out of the room after that. Everything was going to plan. He needed to keep Diamond distracted and oblivious to his own movements. He was specially selecting and preparing the youma they would be sending once they arrived. He couldn't take the chance that Serenity could get hurt.


	7. Her Time To Shine

This is the chapter where I pulled the title from. I enjoyed writing this chapter about Serena growing into a confident woman yet still not quite seeing how sweet and caring others saw her to be.

Chapter 7 – A Time to Shine

Serena wondered if it meant that she was high maintenance if it took five men to make her this happy. Her uncle was her constant support, his love and his maturity gave her a stability she hadn’t realized she so desperately needed. Sometimes she wondered if Luna was right advising her to keep her parents in the dark. An adult authority figure that knew her secret and supported her helped her feel truly stable for the first time since she found out what she was. 

The Boys as she had started calling them, were a constant in her life and a support since they chose to care for her. She knew they really owed her nothing in this lifetime and yet they chose to be there for her. The feeling of being chosen by them grew her confidence and helped her grow her own sense of self. 

Of course, being Serena, she couldn’t comprehend what the five got out of it. Her uncle got to feel, for the first time, what the love of a daughter would feel like and he reveled in it. Her beautiful heart and her abounding love brought him a joy he never knew he could experience. He marveled at her love and care for others no matter how little of a connection she had to that person. He watched her go out of her way for everyone. She even brought home a stray kitten that he let stay. She had to nurse it back to heath from malnourishment and she did with great care and gentleness. 

Serena had announced, “I am going to call her Stella. I wonder what it will be like to have a cat that can’t order me around. Although from that look she is giving me she might try.”

Everyone chuckled. 

He was even more proud of her the day she gave Stella away. The neighbors next door had a sweet five-year-old girl named Lucy who had fallen in love with Stella instantly. Oddly enough, Stella loved her back and loved to get pets from her. One day Serena came home and saw the girl’s mother siting out back crying. The family’s cat had died that day and she dreaded telling her daughter when she came home from school. Serena handed her Stella and said she would be thrilled if Lucy adopted her and it may help ease the little girl’s tears. Lucy came over that night with a drawing of Stella to thank Serena. Serena had cried happy tears.

Everyone laughed so hard some had tears in their eyes the day she came down to breakfast wearing a Rolling Stones t-shirt. The Boys showed their appreciation and senses of humor by clapping loudly. Serena took a small courtesy and sat down. 

Jadeite, always the first to speak up in support of her announced, “And that is one of the reasons I like you even better.” The rest of the Generals all agreed. 

Serena was confused and asked what he meant. 

“You can laugh! You have this lightness and this joy that Serenity never had. You are still the best parts of her, but you are so much easier to relate to. Maybe you royal training took this part out of her. If it did then I am sad that she lost this. I always liked her, but you are a joy to be around.”

Zoisite spoke up next, “Serenity was always Endymion’s to us. We respected her and the relationship she had with him. You, Serena are so much more to us.” 

Nephrite chimed in, “Darien is an idiot.”

Kunzite said, “True but not helpful Nephrite. Moving on from the heartbreaking elephant in the room… What made you decide to get that shirt?”

Serena gave a watery smile and sighed. She then was able to manage a true smile and replied, “I saw it and immediately thought of you four. Also, the tongue on the shirt just seemed to fit the personality too much of at least one of you.” They proceed to argue over who she meant by that. She smiled and never told. 

Work continued to go well. They adored her and she worked incredibly hard. As she learned more, she interacted more and more with the customers at the reception desk. Eventually it became her desk and she handled the calls and customer interaction that didn’t take place during training. She loved it and they received a lot of wonderful reviews of their customer service. The owner was grateful his childhood friend sent his niece to them. 

Serena’s lessons at the dojo continued on pretty well. She struggled less and less to remember to just stick to the training moves and forms at the dojo. She kept slipping in her “park fighting technique” as she called it in her head. She did after all spend an enormous amount of time fighting youma in parks. Her teacher wasn’t too put out by her occasional slip ups. She was after all slipping in different techniques and not letting her guard down. Her need to master each individual form was the only thing that kept her from advancing even faster than she already was. She was a star pupil and the instructors all enjoyed working with her. 

In the evenings Serena and The Boys would go out they laughed and started referring to themselves as The Stones one night. 

Serena laughed out loud and admitted, “If everything else had failed I considered making you all into a necklace. You in your stone forms were rather pretty.”

Jadeite scoffed, “Pretty! We are not pretty.”

Zoisite rolled his eyes, “Yea, because that was the revelation in that statement. That we were pretty. Not that we were close to being turned into jewelry.”

Nephrite shrugged and stated, “Either way we would be serving Serena.”

Kunzite laughed, “Yea, because decorating her neck is even close to what we are doing for her now.”

“And what exactly are you doing for me now?” She asked coyly. 

Jadeite stood up and said, “Dancing, care to join me?”

Serena smiled and took his hand as he whisked her away to dance. The whole night proceeded with her dancing several times with each of them. She noticed but didn’t remark each time they quietly sent away every other man who came to ask her to dance. They weren’t saving her for Darien; they just didn’t trust other men around her. At least that was what each of them told themselves. 

One day at breakfast she screwed up her courage and asked them about it. Why they never let men approach her. Why they kept them away. 

Jadeite jumped in first, “And why should we trust any man around you Princess?”

“I am not a princess.”

“Well, you are.” Zoisite spoke up. “You just happen to be a princess of a dead race of people.”

Nephrite cut in, “Oh yea. That is helpful! What he meant to say is that you are the Crowned Princess of the Silver Millennium. You are special and really what can a mere man say to relate to you?”

“Oh great! So, I am single for the rest of my life? Darien won’t have me and no one else can relate, so what!? I get no one? Have you all even thought this through?”

Jadeite swallowed and said, “No obviously we haven’t. We just feel the need to protect you and we may have gone too far. You of all people should have the chance at love. You who seem to embody that very emotion in everything you do.”

“I second that!” Kunzite yelled. Zoisite and Nephrite added their voices in agreement. 

Her uncle spoke up, “So it is settled then, Serena starts dating.”

The Boys agreed out loud with her uncle. In reality they weren’t fully on board with her dating. Still, not one voiced an objection to her. 

And so, it happened that the following Saturday Serena was dressed up for her first date post Darien. She forced a smile and really looked at herself in the mirror. She realized she looked older and it surprised her. She reflected that maybe she shouldn’t be. She for one was older, her clothing style had matured also, and on top of it all she was a different girl than the one who met Darien. She was a woman who had fought and survived countless youma, Beryl, and Metalia. She had graduated High School and held down a job that she was good at and where they valued her. She had the comfort and the complete support from five men that included the knowledge of who she truly was. Sure, Darien has broken her heart and that was in there too, but she decided what defined her about that moment was her strength to move on. Or she acknowledged, to move forward. Her deepest fear was not being able to move on from loving Darien. She tucked that aside and walked down the stairs for her first non-Darien date. 

The actual date was wonderful. She smiled and enjoyed getting out and having a good time. She was nervous at the beginning, but she relied on her natural ability to talk to people and it quickly became easy to carry on a conversation. While the date was fun, the guy was rather unremarkable. Sure, he was handsome and a few girls were sending her jealous looks, but she quickly realized that they didn’t have much in common. At the end of the date she thanked him quickly and darted to the door. He never had the chance to even try to kiss her. A fact that The Boys noticed and were glad about. 

And so, she went on with her new life. She smiled and laughed a lot, and she grew in confidence daily. Half of the money from her job immediately went into saving and the other half supported her free time and her new wardrobe. She went about a date a week, but never with the same guy twice. She was enjoying being single and none of the men tempted her to give that up even the slightest bit. The Boys kept helping her train to fight and access her powers. The day she disappeared from the Living Room and appeared in the Kitchen they all went out to dinner to celebrate. She was getting stronger every day and they were all proud. 

About six months after she brought The Boys out of their stones, they gave her a present at breakfast. 

Smiling, she lifted the long jewelry box, “Guys you didn’t have to do this.”

Jadeite said, “But we wanted to and since it is custom made you have to keep it. No returns Princess.”

“Thank you.” She opened it up and then gasped. Happy tears ran down her face while she laughed. “What a perfect necklace! And to think you got me one with jadeite, zoisite, nephrite, and kunzite stones on it! Thank you.” She gave them all a huge smile and she radiated joy. 

Zoisite said, “We decided that your success could result in the loss of a necklace.” He winked and smiled at her. 

Kunzite remarked, “After all now you know we will always be with you Princess. Or at least you will be reminded of the fact that it is already true.”

She jumped up and hugged each one of them and then her uncle helped her put the necklace on. The necklace rarely ever left her neck after that. During her moments of doubt and worry she would touch it and remember she had them to support her when her courage or strength failed, they would be there. And she grew even stronger from that day on. 

And so, she became at nineteen what she had always wanted to be. She was kind, confident, no longer a klutzy girl, she walked with poise, and had an ease about her that drew others in even further. That along with her maturing looks and her new style that she looked lovely. And that was where she was eleven and a half months to the day after she had first left home and moved in with her uncle. 

Diamond smiled as they approached Earth. Finally, they were there, and Serenity would be his. “Sapphire you will oversee sending out the youma. Go get ready.”

Sapphire headed out to obey him and do the final preparations with he youma. It all was going according to plan.


	8. A Time To Reflect

Thank you blueeyeddevil06 for being my beta

Chapter 8 – A Time to Reflect

Serena's parents were left in a sort of suspended tension and relief, if those things go together. They spoke to her on the phone weekly, and her father received updates from his brother regularly. They were so relieved she had a job, one where she succeeded and where she was appreciated. The tensions came in when they realized they didn't recognize their daughter anymore. The description of the hard-working girl they received from her uncle didn't fit what they knew of their daughter. That, and her regular appearances at breakfast. They were so used to her dashing off with a piece of toast in her hand. Her mother then realized she wasn't even sure what Serena liked for breakfast anymore.

And so, her parents reflected on the fact that when she returned, they would have to get to know her all over again. Her mother quipped, "I guess we could start by all going out for breakfast." Her brother laughed, and then agreed. He thought it was a strange world where Serena woke up on time.

Luna moved in with Mina and Artemis when Serena left. She enjoyed being around Mina since she was so like Serena, and Artemis had her heart for over a thousand years. Even with all of that, she missed Serena terribly. Two months after Serena left, Luna had gone through everything she thought she knew about Serena. She eventually realized that while Serena was changing, her perception of Serena had not. She had remained, to Luna, that clumsy girl who didn't know what she was doing in the beginning. After truly reflecting on her though, she realized that she wasn't that girl even when she left. Luna knew she really wouldn't be that girl when she returned.

Raye maintained she was correct about Serena the whole time. Really, how could she be wrong? Serena was loud, got bad grades, and wasn't dependable. How could she ever have been a princess and be like that. Surely, she needed to grow up and try harder. Raye never made it to reflecting on the fact that it was Serena's power and abilities that defeated the youma and saved the day. If she had, she would have felt like the support cast in her own life. Without even knowing what she was doing, she had made sure to tear Serena down. She was always the leading lady when she closed her eyes at night. She made it so that she felt like that in the daytime too.

Amy, on the other hand, had quickly realized that she had been too hard on Serena. For one thing, she felt their group was quickly falling apart. She then realized she was being dramatic in that thought. It didn't fall apart; it just wasn't the same. Serena was always the one to notice when something was bothering one of them. She also was apparently the only one who noticed when Amy was lonely but didn't know how to reach out. So, she spent many afternoons alone and missing her friend. She knew the other girls truly cared about her, and they just didn't get together as much as they used to.

Mina lost her rudder with Serena gone. For so long, even when she was fighting alone, she always knew Serenity was out there for her to go to. Once she found Serena and started fighting with her, she had the one person with her that she was meant to support. She realized that Serena had needed more from her. Mina was a natural leader, and her lack of patience with Serena only made things worse. Serena needed her help to teach her and not be made to feel lacking since it wasn't a natural ability for her. She looked forward to the moment Serena came back.

Lita missed Serena's acceptance of her. She was friends with the other girls, and it was a true bond of deep friendship, but it lacked part of what she received from Serena. On rough days, when she felt too tall or too strong for a woman, she remembered how Serena appreciated her just as she was and told her. She resolved that when Serena came back, she wouldn't mention her strength. She would just ask to train together. Really, to Lita, it was a win-win. Serena would be stronger, and she would get to spend time with the one person who she felt truly accepted her and cared for her.

Molly kept in regular contact with Serena. She was excited to hear all about her new life and her job. She listened to her tell all about her various dates, and Molly filled her in on Melvin. Molly loved hearing about The Boys. She loved to hear about the funny things they did and how they supported Serena. She quickly grew to admire them. Molly hoped Serena would come home soon so they could meet for lunch and go out shopping and laughing like old times.

Darien was happy with his studies. At least that is what he told himself. He was concentrating on medical school and getting fabulous grades. All his professors praised his abilities and his hard work. He was top of his class, and that wasn't going to change. No one understood the material or worked harder than he did. He slept well and never had nightmares. Deep down, he was miserable.

What was he working towards if it wasn't a life with Serena? What was the point of med school in the first place? He knew he wanted to be a doctor before he even met her. He just struggled to remember why that was. When he did remember, it felt vague and unfulfilling. She had given him a wonderful future to look forward to, and without her, it became bleak. Yet, he still studied and concentrated on becoming a doctor. After all, what other alternative did he have?

Andrew watched them all from behind the counter at the Arcade. He watched the girls in various levels of guilt and missing Serena. He watched Darien, his best friend, shut down even further. He still came and drank coffee while he studied, and he made small talk with Andrew. He never opened up and said anything of consequence though. So, Andrew watched and waited. Ten months after Serena left, Darien told Andrew about the dreams of her dying in his arms soaked in her own blood.

Andrew was never a violent man, and he really cared for Darien. Yet, that day in the Arcade, he lost it completely. Darien was on the floor holding his bloody nose before he even realized Andrew was angry.

Andrew growled, "You broke Serena's heart over a dream?! You are the stupidest... dumbest… Ah! What the hell?!"

"It wasn't just a dream. I saw it every night ,and I knew it was more than that. It was a warning. If I stayed with her, she would have died. I can live with her hating me. I can't live if she dies. Don't you understand?"

"Oh, I understand. I understand you broke her heart, and you made sure you get to feel self-righteous about it. You just can't fathom being happy, can you?"

"That is hardly fair! Being with her was easy; it was like breathing. Now, I don't know how to be alone again. I was good at it, and after her, I don't remember how."

"You were never good at it. You were just really good at lying to yourself. Now, you know the difference between the lie and reality. And, you broke up with her and chased her away."

"How did I chase her away? I stayed away from her so she could get over me!" Darien was puzzled.

"You brought that girl to the Arcade to hurt her," Andrew spat at him.

"Yes, I will admit I brought her to prove to Serena that we were over, but she never came in that day."

"Nope, she sure didn't. She took one look at you with that girl from her spot at the door, turned and fled. I saw her crying."

"I didn't even see her. I feel awful."

"Why do you care when it was exactly what you wanted? She saw the two of you together. Mission accomplished. We will call it 'Mission: Darien is an Ass.'"

"Of course I care! I had second thoughts about it later, and I was relieved when I thought she hadn't seen me with her. I can't even look at that girl without hating myself, and that was before I knew Serena even saw us!"

"Well, the next day, she started talking about getting out of town for a while when she came to the Arcade. She told me it was time to get some distance away from the city. Next thing I know, her father is calling mine excited that she finally had some motivation to grow up and get a job. So, I hold to the original statement that you chased her away."

"Please, tell me that isn't true," he begged.

"It is true and all for a stupid dream."

"It wasn't just a dream, it was a warning." Darien desperately wanted Andrew to believe him and understand he was protecting Serena.

"You sound really stupid right now."

"No, really, you know who I am, but…."

"Serena is Sailor Moon." Andrew said evenly and with a bored tone.

"You know?!" Darien was absolutely shocked.

"I've known her longer than I have known you. Of course I know. She and the girls aren't really that good at talking quietly. She had bruises and injuries that I knew you and her father weren't giving her."

"Well, then you know she is special, and I have to take the dreams seriously!"

"What I know is there have been people or aliens who have wanted to separate you before, and I'm sure that wasn't the last time. Luckily for them, you made it easy." Andrew was really angry now.

"This isn't a joke."

"Oh, I'm not joking. How do you defeat the bad guys if you don't even fight? You are stronger together. Now, they're assured that you're both weaker. She isn't even in the city!"

"You're wrong about my dreams."

"And, you're an idiot. You aren't going to convince me those dreams were going to come true."

Darien sighed and gave up on convincing Andrew for now. "I just wish I knew if she was okay," Darien said sadly.

And here, Andrew smiled and got a sick satisfaction out of what he was about to say. Darien was his friend. and he shouldn't have enjoyed it so much. "She's actually doing really well. She sounds great every time I talk to her on the phone."

"Wait, you have been in contact with her this whole time?!"

"Yup," and Andrew smiled.

"Where is she, and what's she doing?"

"Oh, no. I'm not telling you where she is. She is doing well. She has a job where they absolutely love her, and she is enjoying it. She has great friends around her. She is really thriving."

"Is she seeing anyone?" Darien asked nervously.

And, here came the part of the conversation Andrew was really looking forward to. "I wouldn't call it seeing anyone. She goes on lots of dates, and apparently, the local florist has her address memorized, but she hasn't been seeing any one man. She says she's having fun being young, single and dating around."

Darien's face fell at the idea of other men receiving her smiles. The idea of them even touching her hand made him sick. Jealousy grew in his chest.

Andrew smiled and said, "So see, you got exactly what you wanted. She's moving on."

Darien stormed out of the Arcade after that statement, went home to study, and ice his face. Once he got there, he slammed his books down and punched a hole in the wall for the first time in his life.

He then went to his freezer and pulled out two ice packs.

Andrew sighed and smiled back at the Arcade. He knew he was able to start chipping away at Darien's armor. Step one to getting them back together, check. Then he sighed. It was going to be a long checklist.

Sapphire was ready, and he knew it was time. Hopefully, Endymion was playing his part. "Time to go!" he yelled.


	9. Welcome Home

Blueeyeddevil06 thank you for going through and editing this.

Chapter 9 – Welcome Home

And, then it happened. Youma attacked in the park, again. Amy detected it first with her computer, alerted the girls and Darien, and then the five of them were all dashing off in hopes they could defeat it without Serena. What Amy didn't know was that Serena did, in fact, know how to turn the location finder on her communicator off while leaving the device on. Just as she sat down to dinner, her communicator went off and she groaned.

Serena looked at all of them and said, "Sorry." She then transformed and disappeared.

Jadeite leapt up, shouting, "Like hell you're going without me!" And he quickly disappeared chasing after her. Zoisite, Nephrite, and Kunzite quietly stood and followed them both. Her uncle then proceeded to eat his dinner at a sedate pace. He figured they could just reheat theirs when they got back.

Serena and the generals all appeared in an alley near the park. She smiled at them when she realized they had followed her there. She asked them to stay out of sight unless they wanted to reveal themselves to Darien. Not one of them wanted him to know they were back yet, so they agreed they would just keep out of sight and keep watch over her.

So, it was in the middle of a tense battle against the newest youma that Sailor Moon showed up and jumped into action. Darien stood frozen for a second, hardly believing she was there. Then he heard one of the girls scream in pain, and he turned his focus back to the fight. He noticed the youma was about to launch an attack. He then looked over at Serena and was just in time to see her quickly launch her tiara, dusting the youma. His heart almost stopped when she smiled after their victory.

"Hello, everyone."

The girls and Darien stared back at her.

Amy spoke first, "Serena, it is so good to see you. How are you even here?"

"Like this." She said and disappeared only to reappear behind them. "Hello." She said, and they all spun around to look at her again as she wiggled her fingers at them.

Lita asked, "How did you learn to do that?! That's amazing!"

All Serena would say was, "I had some help training."

Raye quipped, "Well, you were still late."

Mina jumped in, "Thank you for coming to help us."

Serena said, "I told you I would be back to help you fight any youma. I have also been doing a lot of training. I keep my word."

Amy smiled and said, "I never doubted you. It was fun to all fight together again."

Serena's eyes softened and she said, "Oddly enough, it actually was. I never thought I would miss the fighting. I will be back again next time. Bye." And Serena disappeared again. This time for good.

Darien went home and put a second hole in his wall with his fist. She was stunning and beautiful, and he couldn't say even one word to her. The apartment seemed even more quiet than it had been thirty minutes ago. He didn't know how that was even possible.

Serena and the guys all arrived home and reheated their dinners. They went over her battle afterwards, and then everyone went to be early that night.

Two days later, they were all back in the city since another youma had appeared. The boys were watching the fight from a hidden location, and Serena dusted the youma. This time, she didn't stay and talk. The following day, there was yet another youma attack. Serena knew it was time to move back to the city. Now she just had to break it to her uncle.

Serena unpacked her last box two weeks and five battles after that first night back in the park in over a year. It had surprised her how easy it was to break it to her uncle. He clapped his hands, rubbed them together, and stated that it was time for them all to move. That surprised her, and she was instantly relieved. Her uncle proceeded to show her the housing listing for the house he had purchased near her childhood home. He showed her which room was hers and where the guys would be also. He further shocked her saying he had closed on it two days ago, and they would all be moving together.

She explained to her parents, and they reluctantly agreed she didn't need to move back into their house. Two arguments won out in the end. One, she was old enough that she could make her own decisions and two, she seemed to really thrive under her uncle's supervision. Her brother groaned, wishing she was moving back in. Last week, he was five minutes late for curfew, and he received an hour lecture on being responsible. He missed his sister; she had always made him look like the model for responsibility.

The hardest part turned out to be quitting her job. They hated to see her go and told her that any time she wanted to come back they would be happy to have her. She realized she was really going to miss them all. She had truly loved her job and the people there. She hugged them all as she said goodbye.

Andrew was wiping down the counter when the doors opened, and the girls walked in. He waved hello to them and proceeded to get their milkshakes before they even had to order them. He sent them over and then refilled Darien's coffee cup. He smiled as he filled it with decaf when Darien wasn't looking. He had been doing that since Darien broke up with Serena. His favorite time to slip him decaf was in the mornings before he had a long lecture.

The doors opened again and in came a bubbly Molly. Andrew laughed and shook his head at her behavior then froze when he saw who was with her. There was Serena, chatting with her and smiling. Then, even brotherly Andrew noticed she was gorgeous, and his jaw dropped. Serena looked over at him, and she gave him a brilliant smile.

Andrew was out from behind the counter before Darien could even look up from his books. Darien slowly turned and saw Andrew hugging Serena. He was transfixed, and he couldn't look away from her. He had, of course, quickly noticed what Andrew had already seen. She was gorgeous. He quickly amended that to incredibly sexy. And, there she was undeniably sexy and standing there not even looking at him. He then heard four very high-pitched squeals, and Serena was surrounded by her scouts and wrapped up in an enormous hug.

Andrew asked one of the other employees to take over since he was taking a break. The group of them all filed into a booth and started talking animatedly.

Darien whispered, "Welcome home," and then turned back to his books. He proceeded to pack everything away and paid his bill. Once he was home, he added one more hole to the wall before he continued to study for his test the next day. A test he aced, realizing Serena would have been so proud of him.


	10. Rolling Stones

Blueeyeddevil06 thank you for going through and editing this.

Chapter 10 – Rolling Stones

Darien heard a knock at his door, but he ignored it. No one he wanted to see had knocked on his door in just over a year. Actually, it has been longer than that since Serena used to have a key. At that memory, he raced to the door, hoping it was her. It wasn't. Four men he recognized stood in the hall, and he didn't know what to make of them. They were the defeated, dead Dark Generals, but they looked very alive and more like their old selves. The old selves they used to be when they were Endymion's closest friends.

Nephrite spoke up, "Are you going to invite us in? We aren't going to hurt you. Well, maybe we aren't. We do have a lot to say that can't be said in the hall."

A still angry Jadeite spoke up, "Speak for yourself. I'm definitely going to hurt him. I just won't be evil when I do it."

Zoisite chuckled and said, "For once, I agree with Jadeite."

Darien invited them in, focusing on the "we are not evil" part of the conversation while he was confused by the threats. He figured it was worth listening to and finding out how they were back.

Kunzite looked around and said, "It figures your apartment would look so cold."

Darien invited them all in to sit down and found a seat for himself. He ignored Kunzite's statement since he didn't know how to respond to it. "How are you all here? I thought you were all dead. I even have what I thought were your stones tucked away in my bedroom closet."

Jadeite spoke next, "So, if it was up to you, we would just be a rock collection."

Kunzite laughed and said, "Hey, we were almost a necklace." That had all four of them laughing while Darien knew he was missing the joke.

Jadeite shifted forward in his seat. "I guess I will tell the story. To make a long story very short, Serena is amazing, and you're an asshat." The other three chuckled.

Nephrite tried to fill in a little more of the story, "To flesh out that story a bit, it starts with Serena stealing your stone collection and deciding she wanted to give you the best gift she could think of. She wanted to give you your generals back free of dark energy and protected from turning again. So, here we are."

Darien looked at them wide eyed, "Serena did this? How?"

Zoisite shook his head, "From the beginning again. While you and Serena were still together, she pulled us out of your closet and brought us to her house. About a week later, maybe less, you broke up with her, and she never wavered from the idea of restoring us to our original forms for you. So, here we are untainted by dark energy and in full possession of our minds." He smiled. "She just didn't plan on one thing."

Jadeite broke in, "That thing being us realizing you're an asshat."

Kunzite sighed, "Seriously, Jadeite, you hear that phrase one time on a TV, and now you have been saying 'asshat' for a week!" He sighed, irritated with Jadeite. He then focused on Darien again, "What she didn't plan on was our loyalty to Endymion and our oaths. We don't serve any form of Endymion that doesn't adore every form of Serenity. We made an oath to preserve their love, and we still hold to that."

Zoisite filled in, "We have been back for a while. Now that you will have a chance to see us around town, we wanted you to know we are back to our old selves and pose no danger to Serena. She is under our protection. Even if we have to protect her from you."

Darien looked stricken, "I would never hurt her."

Jadeite said, "You already did, asshat. In fact, you're the biggest danger she faces in this city, and that's saying something with all of the youma popping up."

Nephrite sighed, "Can we just move on from asshat?!" He looked to Darien. "We're back, and we're living with Serena and her uncle. You need to know that and the fact that we were present at every youma fight she has come to since you broke her heart. Let the girls know we are alive, back, and that we aren't a danger. Tell them that when we are ready to see them, we will. We aren't too happy with any of them right now. Although, Jadeite makes us all look soft compared to his anger at you and Raye. Don't worry. He's mostly angry at you."

"Asshat," Jadeite muttered and the other three groaned. "What!? It is that or punch him, and it would be hard for him to listen if he were unconscious. Nephrite, you specifically said, and I quote, 'Don't knock him out before we talk to him.'"

Darien got nervous over the word 'before.' "I know I have no right to say this, but thank you for taking care of her. Also, I'm glad you're back."

Jadeite looked livid after the first part of Darien's statement.

Jadeite asked, "Please, tell me we are done talking." Zoisite nodded. "Asshat."

The next thing Darien knew was intense pain, and then there was darkness. He woke up a while later and got up from his new position on the rug. He noticed his head hurt, and he had a massive bruise on his face. He also noticed that the guys were gone.

He went to the freezer, got an ice pack for his face, and proceeded to call the scouts. He had a message to pass on now. It registered as strange to him that it was the first time he was excited by anything in over a year. He knew it had to do with Serena and her having four loyal friends with her right now. He chuckled over the fact that he liked Jadeite even better after he punched him.

The girls and the cats arrived, and Amy immediately checked him for a concussion. She then declared Darien "dumb for not going in to get a cat scan," and then they all moved on.

What the girls heard next shocked them. Somehow, Serena had brought the generals back all by herself.

"Oh!" Luna said shocked. "That is what Serena was so secretive about. She told me she was working on a gift for you, one that no one could top. She even mentioned it would sort of be for all of us. How nice for you to have your friends and the girls to have their loves back."

There, Darien shifted nervously. "Actually, Jadeite is the one who punched me. I don't know if we really have them back. Right now, it is more like Serena has four men to protect her." He noticed he wasn't being clear with them. This was getting to the part he dreaded. The one where he would have to tell the girls how they had all disappointed the guys. "They're furious that a form of Endymion could ever break her heart. They're here but protecting her, not me. They had vowed to protect the love between Endymion and Serenity. They're protecting Serena because they see me as a threat to that vow." And here, he took a deep breath. "They aren't pleased with you girls either, and they aren't ready to see you. That's why I'm passing along their message. They're disappointed in you all."

Raye sighed. "Surely you're being dramatic. They will all come and see us tomorrow. You'll see."

Darien replied, "Actually, Raye, Jadeite is the angriest of any of them. I think you will have the hardest time reconciling with him."

He left it at that so that the girls would have time for the new revelations to sink in. It had hurt them that the guys were angry at them. Yet, three of the four understood why.

The cats let everything sink in as well, and Luna looked dejected. "There I was, lecturing her on her duties, and she was trying to bring back the generals. Oh, Serena. I'm so sorry."

Lita spoke next, "Serena had no problem talking to us at the Arcade. Surely we'll all be able to make things right with her. That's what is most important right now. The rest will follow."

Darien stayed quiet. He and Serena haven't spoken in over a year. He felt hopeless. Stupid dreams.


	11. Dates and Premonitions

Blueeyeddevil06 thank you for going through and editing this.

Chapter 11 – Dates and Premonitions

The Boys walked into the house, and Serena instantly noticed that Jadeite's knuckles were swollen with the skin broken. She rushed up to the bathroom for the first aid kit and started tending to his wounds. "Do I even want to know what the other guy looks like?"

Zoisite spoke up before Jadeite could even utter "asshat" and told Serena. "I would say Darien looks a lot better than he should. Jadeite held back. I guess it was harder for him to hit someone who looks like Endymion than he expected."

Serena sighed, "He is Endymion." And then she shocked everyone when she kissed Jadeite on the cheek and said, "Thank you. I shouldn't be touched that you did that, but I am. Does that make me a bad person?"

Nephrite instantly replied, "Nope! That just makes you even more our girl."

Serena smiled and left the room to put away the first aid supplies.

The four were left on their own and Kunzite chuckled, "Well I guess that answered the question about how mad she would be. She does have a soft spot for Jadeite, but I didn't think even he would get away with that."

Zoisite said, "Or, it shows how much she's still hurting from whatever Darien said to her. I really think we haven't gotten the whole story."

Kunzite spoke up from the couch, "We have all realized she cries herself to sleep some nights, right? I can't be the only one to notice."

They all nodded, and each one of them knew they would never embarrass her by telling her they knew. They had all been there every morning afterwards at breakfast making her laugh and letting her know they were there for her in their own way.

The weekend came, and Serena had just finished getting ready for her date when the doorbell rang. Since she was the closest to it, she opened it and was startled. "Molly, did I forget I made plans with you tonight? I'm so sorry! I was expecting my date."

Molly laughed and shook her head, "No, you didn't forget. We do need to schedule a girl's night soon. It isn't the same talking over the phone."

They both heard one of the guys clomping down the stairs. Serena turned and said, "Kunzite, what are you in a hurry for?"

Kunzite gave an easy smile and said, "My date! Hello Molly, you look lovely. Are you ready to go?"

Molly confirmed that she was just as Serena's date started up the walk. Kunzite turned an eye to him, gave him a pointed look, and spoke to Serena. "Don't forget your curfew, Serena."

Serena laughed and replied, "Nice try, Kunz. I'm ready to go, Mark." She turned to Molly, "Have fun!" She and Molly both hugged, and she walked out the door.

Serena laughed a lot that night as she caught up with Mark on how her former classmates were doing since she left. She had also almost cried laughing when he told her about his trip to the beach recently. He had gotten freaked out and had begun screaming over what turned out to be seaweed, not the jelly fish he had been expecting.

He was extremely glad he finally had the chance to go out with her.

Sapphire shook his head from his table as he watched Serenity on her date with someone he didn't recognize. Endymion was pissing him off. Things were not going according to plan.

As much fun as Serena had, she didn't break her pattern of never having a second date.

Saturday morning, Jadeite knocked on Darien's door and waited for him to answer. He heard noise behind the door and figured that Darien was deciding if he was going to let him in. Jadeite was hoping Darien still had a bruise.

The door opened and he heard, "Come on in."

"You're brave. I see your bruise is gone. Too bad." Jadeite looked irritated at that fact.

"I have had really quick healing ever since I became Tuxedo Mask."

"Huh, good to know."

"As for being brave; what can you do that I don't deserve?"

"Well, I can do something that you really may not like," Jadeite stated.

"What is that?" Darien asked nervously.

"Demand the truth. The real reason you broke the heart of the kindest, purest, most loving girl that I have known. Do you even know what it is like to be around her after Beryl? What it is like to go from being around such cruelty to being around Serena? She has healed all four of us, not just from the dark energy either. Her easy acceptance of us was a balm to our guilt and self-loathing."

"That doesn't surprise me."

"Then what's wrong with you? What could you possibly miss seeing in her to not see how amazing-"

Darien cut in, "-I saved her life."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I really shouldn't say." He knew Andrew didn't believe him, and he didn't want to be struggling to convince Jadeite.

"You know she still cries herself to sleep some nights?"

Darien sank down on the couch and rubbed his face in his hands. That got him to give in and tell Jadeite, "I had a dream, a premonition, of our wedding day. It was beautiful, she was beautiful. Actually, she was perfect. Then we were attacked, from where I don't know, and then she jumped in front of me and took the hit meant for me. She bled out in my arms. I saw the blood pouring from her mouth, her stomach and covering the ground at our feet. I dreamt that every night for a month, and once I broke up with her, it stopped. I saved her by breaking up with her. I gave up the one who was everything to me to keep her alive and safe. It would destroy me to know I was the cause of her death."

Jadeite walked swiftly to the door and opened it. He paused and looked back at Darien, trying to decide on what to say to the obviously distraught Darien. He huffed and said, "You are a fucking moron. You do know, that right? A premonition! I call bullshit on that one. But okay, let's play this game and pretend it was real. If it was a wedding every time, then fucking elope! Asshat." He then slammed the door leaving a very stunned Darien behind.

Jadeite stomped down the hall and got into the elevator. He was mumbling about Darien being an idiot as he left the building, and the doorman stopped him by saying, "What brought you to believe Darien is an idiot?"

Jadeite was startled and replied, "He broke up with his girlfriend because of a nightmare!"

"Serena?" Asked the doorman.

"You know her? They broke up over a year ago."

"She always had a nice thing to say to me. So many just walk by and ignore people in my position. She seems to see everyone. How is she?"

"She'sa ray of sunshine. She's doing well. She had moved out of the city for a while, but she's back now. I will let her know you asked about her. What is your name?"

"Steve, and thank you for telling her. If it helps, tell her I think Darien is an idiot too."

"My favorite term for him has been 'asshat'. I have been told I overuse it though."

Steve chuckled and shook his head as Jadeite waived and walked out onto the sidewalk, heading for home. He realized that if he passed on Steve's message, he would have to give her a reason that he went to visit Darien. He pondered what to tell her. He didn't know if he had the heart to tell her what Darien said. He knew it would sound like an excuse, a reason to get out of a relationship that he wasn't really invested in. Or, at least that was what it sounded like to him. Maybe she would see it differently.

As he walked down the street, someone grabbed his arm, and he quickly turned to defend himself. Standing in front of him was Darien. "What the hell do you want now?"

"I had dreams before, and they were real."

"Fine. We're back to playing this game. What were they about?" Jadeite spat out.

"Princess Serenity asking me to find the Silver Crystal. That was what revealed Serena to be the Moon Princess."

"Use your brain, Darien. Queen Serenity died to give you two a chance to be together. She placed a failsafe in you to reach out to Serena. You were wired to go looking for your one true love empowered by the Silver Crystal through the Queen's wish. You don't have the power of premonition. You never had that power in the past. Why would you have it now?"

"To protect Serena's life."

"Queen Serenity believed in your love for her daughter so much that she ensured you would meet and marry in the future… well, now actually. She had the power of premonition. Before Beryl turned us, Queen Serenity told me the Moon was going to be destroyed by those from Earth whichever path you took. She was glad that her daughter experienced your love and wanted her to know she had her mother's support and blessing. I was turned by the dark energy before I could pass that message along."

"But!" Darien tried to object.

"She said she saw a future that did include struggles for you both, but she cried tears of joy as she talked about your love for her daughter."

"Why didn't you tell me this earlier in my apartment?"

"Honestly? I wasn't thinking straight. I was and am pissed. Your 'premonition' sounds like an excuse to break up with her to me. What I heard was that you found something that made you feel better for wanting to end it with her."

"So, you're telling me my nightmare is a lie? How do you think I had the same one night after night?"

"Ask Amy! Did you ever even think to go to her? Isn't she some genius? Can't she computer voodoo you or something and tell you?" Jadeite was angry that Darien didn't even think to ask for help.

"I never thought to ask her." Darien admitted.

"Shocking. Did you ever love Serena?"

"Yes! And, I still do!"

"Then get your head out of your ass and ask for help! Go to Amy."

"I will meet with her right now and find out."

"No rush. Serena has a date tonight. His name is Mark, wait no, that was last night. Hmmm. They are so hard to keep track of." Jadeite managed to keep a straight face despite his amusement at Darien's obvious pain. He gave a little wave, turned around, and walked away. After a couple of blocks, he realized he was whistling. He chuckled and continued on his way home.

Darien walked quickly to the Arcade after he called Amy. She said she was nearby and would be there soon. He walked in the door and didn't see her there yet, so he decided to sit and wait at the counter.

Andrew smiled and walked over to pour him a cup of coffee.

Darien said, "I really must not be sleeping well if all the coffee I drink here isn't helping to wake me up."

"That must be it," Andrew replied.

"I am waiting here for Amy. Please keep the coffee coming."

"Will do. So, I don't know how to say this, but I saw Serena on a date last night with some guy."

"Mark," Darien stated with disgust.

"You know him?"

"No, never mind how I know."

Andrew kept the chuckle to his inner voice. Step 42 to getting them back together. Check.

A few minutes later, Amy walked in and sat down next to Darien.

"We need to talk," they both said at once.

"Ladies first." Darien offered.

"Okay. Kunzite went on a date with Molly last night. Mina and I saw them together. She was devastated, and I was up late with her last night while she cried."

"Right. I'm Mr. Stable Relationship right now." He sighed. "I'll do whatever I can to help. What would you like me to do?"

"Can you talk to him and find out what this is? We would like to know if it's what Serena is doing or if he is moving on."

"What do you mean 'what Serena is doing?'"

"You do know she hasn't ever been on a second date, right? That isn't moving on; that is stalling."

"How would you know that?"

"Ouch. Hurtful, but fair. Molly told me back when talking to her didn't count as treason. Mina's words, not mine."

"I will talk to him, if he will even talk to me, and see if he is willing to tell me anything. We aren't exactly close right now, but you know that." Darien admitted.

"Sadly, you're the best we got."

"Ouch. Hurtful, but fair." Darien parroted back.

Amy gave a small laugh, "Okay, your turn."

"I had a dream a while ago, and I need to know where it came from."

"Vague and unhelpful with the details. Try again." Amy quipped.

"Can you see if a dream I had, a reoccurring dream, was real?"

"Try again."

"I had a dream that I thought was a premonition. It has since been pointed out to me that was never a power I had. I really don't know what to look for, hence I came to Mercury."

"Well, if the dream wasn't a premonition, maybe there would be evidence of someone tampering with your brain. Maybe."

"Can you scan for that?"

"I can sure try."

"Can you do it now?" Darien asked hopefully.

"You can come along while I run some simulations and run some ideas through the Mercury computer. Then I can try them out on you."

"Yea, I get to be a guinea pig."

"Hey, you asked me."

"Fair enough, and I was kidding. I'm really grateful. Seriously, Amy, this means a lot to me." Darien said with true feeling.

"Are you going to tell me what it's about?"

"I will tell you while you're working."

"Then let's go!"

Darien asked for his coffee to go and purchased one for Amy too. He didn't even notice that Andrew poured coffee out of two different pots.

Serena stretched out on the couch trying for a more comfortable position. She was still full from the huge breakfast her uncle made them all that morning. Her uncle walked in, smiled at her, and said, "Serena, how is the job search?"

"It's going really well. I have a second interview on Monday. The job isn't perfect, but it pays well."

"Would you like to work for me?"

"Nope!" Serena stated with a lot of energy.

"And, why is that?" Her uncle was puzzled.

"One, I still don't understand what you do. Two, the youma are back. I won't run out on a job you gave me. I don't want to run out on any job, but I really couldn't do that to you."

"That is why I want to give you a job actually. What I do is completely legal, it's just hard to explain in a way that makes that clear."

"Why don't you give it a shot?"

"I connect people with things they are looking for. It would be perfect for you." He stated unhelpfully.

"Wow, I thought you were being dramatic. Imagine my surprise right now; that sounds so sketchy!"

"Ha. Ha. Ha." He deadpanned.

"I don't have to steal things, do I? I mean I would be really good at it; just imagine what I could accomplish to steal with my superpowers. I could have a great catch phrase, 'In the name of the Moon I will rob you.'"

"Again, Ha. Ha. Ha. No, you wouldn't steal anything. More importantly, that is a stupid catch phrase." Her uncle shook his head.

"Everyone's a critic."

"Moving on. Everything is for sale for a price. Not everyone who owns something valuable is in the market to sell that item. Yet, there are people willing to pay a lot of money to change their minds. I have clients who are looking for things like a certain painting. I discover who has it and what price they are willing to part with it. Sometimes there isn't any price they will sell it for, and sometimes they are thrilled to get more than top dollar for what they own. I get commission as a finder's fee for negotiating the sale. It isn't limited to painting either."

"So, you're a Hufflepuff."

"Do I even want to ask?"

"Probably not. I will tell you anyway, but I will try to keep it short. There is a great Harry Potter spoof that is a play. In it, they state that Hufflepuffs are great finders."

"Really, that tells me nothing, but let's get back to the job. You have great instincts when it comes to people. I think you would be good at negotiation and customer service."

"Deal." Serena agreed right away.

"I haven't even told you how much you would make."

"I can have this job and not seem to flake out because I am sneaking off fighting youma. Seems perfect to me."

"Fine. Deal. See you at work on Monday."

"Wait, where do you work?"

"See that office back over there?" He pointed.

"Yes"

"Perfect. The commute is the best."

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Serena jumped up. "Speaking of youma."

Darien and Amy stared at each other. Amy was pissed and not trying to hide it. The moment Darien told her why he broke up with Serena, she saw red. She knew a large reason why Serena didn't talk to her for a year had to do with Darien. Yes, the way she had treated Serena was wrong and she was to blame, but they could have worked on it so much sooner if Serena had stayed in town. It didn't take her a year to figure out she was wrong. Serena had left though, and she suspected she reminded Serena too much of her nonexistent relationship with Darien.

"It's time to do the scan, Darien." Amy announced.

"You aren't going to say anything about what I just told you?"

"Nope. Scanning. I think it will work this time if my theory is correct."

"And, what is your theory?"

"Still scanning." She ignored his question.

"You aren't going to tell me?"

"Nope."

Darien stayed quiet after that, and Amy adjusted some dials, checking the output levels. He watched her concentrate as she studied the readings coming out. Her face was completely blank one minute, and then she went back to looking furious the next.

Amy closed her eyes, took a breath and said, "The dreams were implanted in your brain. I see tampering with your brain that is at least a year old. It was cleverly done, but I am even more clever. Now, get out of my apartment."

"I know you don't want to hear this right now, but thank you. And, I will try to talk with Kunzite."

"Forget it. I can't imagine anyone could trust you right now. Leave. Oh, and tell Jadeite I agree."

"With what?"

"You are an asshat." She said with feeling.

Darien got up to leave, and as he turned the knob on the door, it came. Beep. Beep. Beep.

Amy said, "Thank goodness! I could really go for killing something right now." And, they both rushed off.

Lita sighed as she sat down in the booth at the Arcade. "That was weird, right? Amy looked like she could have taken on that youma all by herself." She had been addressing Mina and Raye. Lita turned to Amy, "Since when did you go for the all-out frontal attack, Amy?"

"I had some stuff to work out."

Raye said, "Remind me not to piss you off."

"Don't worry. Apparently, I would just take it out on the youma instead of you." Amy admitted glumly.

Mina chimed in, "So, who are you mad at? I need to know who I should talk into pissing you off before every attack. That may be hard to plan though."

"I really don't want to talk about it right now. And yes, that would be hard to plan. Although, if I could figure out how to get rid of some of the variables in my predictor algorithm..."

"I was kidding!" Mina yelled out laughing.

Andrew approached them to take their order, "What would you four like?"

They gave him their order, and Amy excused herself for a minute, following Andrew.

"It was implanted in his head; you know the dream." Amy said quietly to him.

"Shit. I mean I really thought that it was fake all along, but shit. He did that to her for nothing. On top of that, if he had just gone to you at the beginning, you could have set him straight." Andrew was upset with what he heard.

"Yup."

"We should call Jadeite to meet us in an hour."

"Why an hour?" She asked.

"I get off in forty-five minutes."

"An hour it is. Cancel my shake. I want to drop by my apartment and get my data to show you both. How do we contact him?"

"I have his number. Wait, you girls don't?"

"No, we don't. Maybe I should have you talk to Kunzite." Amy said sadly.

"What do you need to know?"

"Nevermind. I was kidding. Darien should be the one to ask him what I need. They need to start talking more, and I hope this will get them started."

"Serena is all that matters there. Once Darien has Serena's forgiveness, the Stones will talk to him," Andrew announced.

"The Stones?"

"Some joke I didn't quite get about The Rolling Stones. They referred to themselves by that name the other day when they were all in here together. Though, I think they were really just trying to make Serena squirt milkshake out her nose at the time."

"And, of course, it worked," Amy smiled.

"Yup! They high fived and everything. They are really good for her," Andrew admitted.

"That should have been us."

"It used to be, and you will get there again. As bad as this all was, and it was very bad, she really grew up and grew in confidence."

"She is too good for Darien," Amy added.

"She already was before. She would have never given up on them. I don't think she really has even after everything he has done."

"If he wants to win her back, this is going to get very interesting."

"Don't even doubt that he will try."

"I know. I just want them back together so badly that I'm afraid it won't happen," she confessed.

"You and me both."

"T-minus 51 minutes and counting. You better call Jadeite. Tell the girls I have something I forgot I had to do. Bye."

"Bye"

The doors shut behind her and the order for the girls was up. He took over their food and let them know Amy had to go. He then called Jadeite to meet them at the Arcade, and he agreed on the time. Andrew knew that the three of them represented the three groups that needed work to help things along. Or, at least he needed to see if Jadeite was going to be a hindrance to Darien's attempt to get Serena back.


	12. The Right Direction

Blueeyeddevil06 thank you for going through and editing this.

Chapter 12 – The Right Direction

Molly sat across from Serena as they dug into their ice cream and sighed. "So, is it weird for you that I went out with Kunzite last night?"

"No. Why do you ask?"

"Well… you haven't asked me about my date. Don't get me wrong. You don't have to, but you just always have in the past. You don't have to now either. I just want to make sure it isn't bothering you."

"I have had people ask me about my relationship with Darien after he broke up with me, and while it was from a kind place, it still hurt. That said, my first question was what happened to Melvin? Is that even okay to ask?"

"Yes, and I don't know. We dated for so long, and then one day, he stopped calling. We didn't even actually break up, but a month with no dates made me think it didn't need to be said."

"And, how does that make you feel?"

"Hurt at first. Really hurt. We were together for over a year and then that was how we ended?!" She sighed, "But, then Kunzite asked me out, and it made me feel better somehow. I am not expecting some huge romance, but to go out and be treated so well again. It felt good."

"Then you don't have to ask how I feel about your date. I am thrilled for you. He is a great guy."

"What I want to know is what are his powers?"

"Powers?"

"Come on Sailor Moon, powers."

"Wait, you know! How long?"

"Gosh, years! Why do you think I didn't get hurt when you distanced yourself from me?"

"Thank goodness! It was so hard, but I was younger and afraid of you getting hurt. Truly, you already were a youma magnet. I actually told my advisor that we could find the next youma by following you to your next event. The frightening thing was that I was right!"

"Really? Which one?"

"The last time you were caught up in a youma attack. It was the outdoor concert."

"I remember that one. I was on a date with Melvin. Maybe he is just afraid to go out with me because I get attacked by youma a lot."

"They are back now. But, he is just a fool. You're amazing."

"So are you."

"Yup. Two single, amazing women eating ice cream in their PJs. That's us."

"Hey, the ice cream and PJs don't make it any less true."

They both laughed and then picked out a movie to watch. They settled on the couch and enjoyed their time back together.

Jadeite walked into the Arcade and saw Andrew sitting at a table in the back. He scanned the room and didn't recognize anyone. He then walked back and sat down across from Andrew.

Andrew looked across the table and said, "Amy should be here any minute. She was gathering some data at her apartment."

Just as he said that, she rushed in and sat down between the two. "Okay. I'm here. First, I want to say this." She turned and looked at Jadeite. "You were absolutely right of course. I didn't know until today, and I was pissed when Darien told me."

"Back up." Jadeite said, "Right about what?"

"Right about the dumb dream, and I can prove it. I have proved it to Darien."

Here, Jadeite jumped up. "I knew it! I'm going to kill him."

Andrew broke in, "That would make it hard for them to get back together."

Jadeite thought about that. "Gosh, I really want that for her. Too bad that means he gets forgiven for what he did though. I should have hit him harder."

Andrew looked at him. "You hit him? Good for you!"

"Serena even thanked me. The other guys and I were surprised she wasn't mad. It actually made me even more proud of her."

"I wanted to find out if you were pro or con. Does that mean you are in the pro camp for them getting back together?"

"Yes."

"Good, that eliminates one potential problem. What about the other guys?"

"We are all in the same camp. You weren't there one thousand years ago. Whatever Darien did, and it was really bad, they can be amazing together. I want that for her. All four of us do."

Amy slid the data over to Jadeite and said, "See this bit here and this line here?"

"Yes."

"In layman's terms, it means that Darien's premonition is bullshit."

Andrew looked shocked by Amy's language.

Amy looked back and said, "And, how would you describe it Andrew? He hurt her for no reason, and we're all angry at him." Amy started to cry, and Andrew looked panicked. Jadeite leaned in and comforted her. He had experience with comforting a strong woman.

"Thanks, Jadeite," she said.

Jadeite went back to the subject to not dwell on her tears. "So, it's BS and Darien knows?"

"Yes, and yes."

"Then what is the meeting for?" he asked.

Andrew said, "We thought you deserved to know the truth since you were the one who got Darien to go to Amy for help. Also, I wanted to know what we could do to help get them back together. Darien will come to me with this. I want to give good suggestions, and I'm not great with women."

"But, you have Rita," Amy interjected.

"You realize she lives in Africa, right?"

"Yea, but…."

"I can manage to not screw up a phone call every few days with my girlfriend who works in a remote location in Africa. In Africa, where she is on a team with four women, one 40-year-old man, and one man in his mid-50s. Casanova I am not."

Jadeite shook his head laughing. "Keep it simple. Have him tell her the truth and then tell her how he really feels then and now. That and lots of presents."

Amy chuckled at that.

Jadeite added, "He needs to approach us generals too. She needs to see he is working on getting to know us again." He paused and looked at Andrew. "You know about them, right?" Andrew nodded. "Okay, well she brought us back for him. He needs to show that it matters to him."

Amy nodded and smiled. "Sounds good to me."

Andrew stood and stretched. Thank you for coming. I won't take up more of your time, Jadeite. You have been a huge help in all of this. Thank you."

"Darien better be grateful."

"If he isn't yet, he will be. He had a lot to take in. This is a huge reality shift for him. Well, good night."

Jadeite then left and took a walk in the park for a while. He kept going through what he had found out. He was so relieved he was right about the dreams.

When he arrived home, he found movie credits rolling on the TV and Serena and Molly asleep on the couch. He chuckled and nudged them both awake. Then he laughed quietly as they both stumbled up to Serena's room half asleep. Next, he turned off the movie and TV and then, he too, turned in for the night.

Molly didn't think through breakfast when they set up the sleepover at Serena's house. It felt like a lesson in Good Idea/Bad Idea. Good idea: Having a sleepover with your best friend. Bad idea: Being at breakfast with the guy you just went on a date with and have no idea if there will be a second date coming. Awkward! Surely it wasn't just her right? She watched him fidget and decided that it wasn't just her. That helped her feel a little better. She did eat really fast though. She was glad Serena was a notoriously fast eater.

Serena laughed when they made it back to her room. "I am so sorry I didn't think about Kunzite being there at breakfast with you."

"I forgot too. I can't blame you."

"So, how awkward was it?"

"Very. It helped to know he was fidgeting too."

"He was really funny. The guys are going to give him such a hard time. Especially since you didn't give anything away."

"Thank goodness! I was too afraid to ask you if I did."

"Nope. You looked so calm. I was so proud of you."

Molly looked sad, "You don't have to hide your feelings all the time."

"How did that come up?"

"It is hardly a jump from me hiding my feelings to you hiding your feelings."

"I guess you're right about the jump. I don't hide my feelings as much as you think. I try to live in the moment. I'm truly happy in all those moments. It is the long term where I get sad."

"Can you believe me if I tell you it will work out?"

"Yes."

"It's that easy? I don't believe it."

"You said work out. That is pretty vague. It will be what it will be. I can't change his mind and I can't live in a relationship that doesn't even exist."

"Fair enough. So, back to my situation…."

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Serena replied, "Come in."

Kunzite opened the door and looked at Molly. He swallowed, and they heard someone whisper "coward" from the hall. That got him to talk. "Molly, will you go out with me next Saturday?"

Serena smiled at Molly, and that was enough for her. Molly looked back at Kunzite and said, "I would like that."

"Well, I will call you this week, and we can work out a time."

"Sounds good to me."

He shut the door, and they heard someone get shoved into the wall out in the hall.

Serena chuckled and said, "There are a lot of great moments. They keep me laughing."

Molly truly believed her and was glad she had the guys.

After Kunzite asked Molly out and then knocked Jadeite into the wall for his barely whispered comments, the guys met downstairs around the kitchen table.

Jadeite rubbed his back and scowled at Kunzite then said, "Kunzite can leave. I will tell the rest of you what I found out about Darien."

Kunzite shook his head. "You earned that, and you know I'm not leaving."

"Fine. Fine. But, that hurt! Anyway, I talked to Darien, and no, I didn't hit him again," he said before anyone could ask. "Darien believed he suddenly got the ability of premonition. Idiot. He had a straight month of Serena dying in his arms in his dreams every night at their wedding and decided he had to save her by breaking up with her."

Nephrite said, "Even if it was true, he could elope!"

"That's what I said! I said it bit more colorfully though. I told him that, and that he never had the power of premonition. I also pointed out that Queen Serenity did, and she gave her life for them to be together. She wouldn't have done that if it would have meant Serena's horrible death."

Zoisite asked, "Does he believe you? Will he try to get her back?"

Here, Jadeite smiled, "He went to Amy to see if she could figure out what happened. There is evidence that someone tampered with his brain at that time. She has some computer readouts that I pretended to understand."

"Well, shit." Nephrite muttered.

"Andrew asked if we would get in the way when Darien tried to get her back. I said we were team reconciliation."

Zoisite nodded and said, "More accurately, we are team Serena. But, I get what you mean. Wow, so we should expect a groveling Darien around the house. This should be fun."

Nephrite smiled and said, "Please tell me that doesn't mean we have to go easy on him."

Kunzite shook his head, "Of course we can give him a hard time. Just consider how it will affect Serena. We should be able to be creative enough that only Darien is really affected."

They all smiled at that one.

That evening, there was a knock on the door and Nephrite answered. "Ah, hello,

Darien."

Darien looked behind him and asked, "Is Serena available and willing to talk to me?"

"Well worded. Stay here, and I'll find out."

Three minutes later, Darien stepped into Serena's room.

"Hello, Darien. How have you been?"

"Awful."

"I don't know what to say to that," she sighed at his self pity.

"Fair enough. Do you have time for me to tell you everything? The truth this time. Even the ugly parts?"

"I have time, and I think you owe me that much for over a year now. Don't you agree?"

"I do agree. And, I'm… words just aren't enough right now."

"So then, what are you feeling? Tell me that."

"Deep and bitter regret for what I did, foolishness for being so wrong in my assumptions, and when I look at you, an overwhelming sense of love and devotion. I love you so much. I never stopped for one second. It was all lies I told you that day. Despite everything I have done and the mountain of stuff I have put between us, just being around you now makes my whole being sing. I don't even know if I'm describing it right. Just being next to you feels like coming home and discovering bliss all at the same time."

"That's a good place to start. Why don't you tell me the truth of what happened now?"

And, he told her everything, not leaving anything out. He told her about the dreams and the fear. He told her about the deep loneliness and emptiness. He told her about the one date he went on and how badly he felt afterwards. Especially once he knew she saw him. He told her about Andrew trying to talk sense into him. He told her about Jadeite actually talking sense into him. He told her about Amy's scan, the results, and the crushing self-hatred he felt afterwards.

She listened to all he told her and heard him, and his heart laid out for her. She looked in his eyes and saw it was all the truth. Then she looked into her own heart, and then she looked at it with her head. A heart, especially hers, could be easily swayed. Her head told her he was telling the truth. Her head told her she believed he wouldn't make the same mistake. Her head told her that her heart was still very much his, and his heart was still hers. Her head told her she needed to go slowly since her trust had been broken, a trust he was already on the way to restoring. Her head knew that they were sent a thousand years in time to be together by a mother who loved her deeply and wanted the best for her.

He finished and looked into her eyes, barely restraining himself from holding her hands. "I will do whatever you need me to do. Anything. I know I have a lot to make up for and trust to rebuild."

"Ask me out on a date. We'll see if I break my streak with you."

"How about tomorrow night?"

"How about Saturday night? Don't you have school?"

"I do, but none of that will get in the way of us."

"Saturday night we'll go out on a date, Darien."

"Whatever you want."

"Don't turn into a complete doormat for me. That isn't something I want. I'm a strong enough woman that I can handle a strong man."

"Deal. I can be a bit of a doormat though, right?" He gave her a wry smile at that.

She laughed, "Deal. Oh, and I love chocolates. I'm a bit tired of flowers."

"Noted."

"This isn't us being boyfriend and girlfriend again."

"I know and this is already more than I deserve or was gutsy enough to ask for."

"As long as we are on the same page."

"We are." He pretended to look at a piece of paper and stated, "See, right here it says, 'Darien is an idiot, and he is lucky any time Serena willingly talks to him.'"

She smiled, "Yup, same page."

Darien stood and said goodbye to Serena, not planning a time on Saturday before he left. He knew that way, he would have a valid excuse to call her and hear her voice mid-week. Serena wasn't fooled by him in the least. She was looking forward to the call too. He just didn't have to know.


	13. Growing Relationships

blueeyeddevil06, thank you for going through and editing this.

Chapter 13 – Growing Relationships

Next morning at breakfast, Serena's uncle and the guys looked over at her and waited for her to talk. They knew Darien was there last night, and he looked happy when he left. Serena took her first bite and looked up at them all.

She swallowed and said, "I guess you're all curious about last night. Darien and I talked, and he told me what happened. Jadeite has filled you all in I suppose?" They all nodded. "Good, I don't want to have to go through all that again so soon. Where do you all stand?"

Her uncle spoke first, "We stand on your side whatever that means. We all support the decision you have or will make. All of them." The guys nodded. "We all know you love him, and he loves you. Knowing you as we do, we already know you're working towards a reconciliation, cautiously. How much he has said or done last night to aid in that, we don't know."

Serena replied, "Well, that makes this easier to say. First, he isn't good at all at expressing his emotions. In fact, I'm the only one he ever fully showed them to. He even holds back around Andrew last I saw. That said, it made last night's confession even more poignant. The exact words are mine to cherish, but the sentiment I will share. I'm everything to him, he lied when he broke up with me, and he truly regrets what he did. I believe him."

They all made noises of approval, and Zoisite spoke up. "Well, we won't give him too much of a hard time then. Mainly though, I'm happy for you." Everyone else nodded along.

Serena chuckled, "Should I even ask what qualifies to you all as 'too much of a hard time'?"

They all shook their heads no.

She replied, "Very well. We have a date Saturday night. He wanted to go out tonight, but I said no. Also, he is aware it's a date, and that I'm not his girlfriend now."

"Where are you going? "Jadeite asked.

Serena shook her head, "Not chance in hell am I telling any of you, and if Darien is smart at all, he won't tell you either."

"Touché." Was the reply she heard mumbled from one of the guys.

The next morning, Darien was in his apartment planning their date for Saturday or at least trying to. After a long time mulling it over, he decided on taking her to an art gallery opening he had heard about and dinner. It would give them the opportunity to talk and catch up, but it would also give them something to discuss if things started to feel awkward. Serena loved discussing beautiful things, and he loved the look in her eyes while she did. With that set, he headed off to class.

Mina saw Molly walk in right after she had sat down to eat lunch at the Arcade that day and tried to decide what her next move was. Molly smiled, walked over to her, and asked if she would mind company while she ate. Mina nodded and figured that made the decision for her.

Molly spoke up first, "How have you been? I know Serena is really glad to be back and connecting with you all again."

"I'm glad to hear that. We missed her a lot while she was gone."

"Oh! I let Serena know only recently and I figured I should inform you too. She would hate to keep a secret, yet she wouldn't tell you because she would hate to feel like she was betraying my trust. I know who you all are, if you get what I mean."

"I am sorry I am not following," she was truly puzzled.

Molly glanced around and checked for anyone who could hear her. She then whispered anyway, "I know you're Sailor Venus and who everyone else is."

"Ah! So, that is what you mean. How long?" Mina was completely surprised.

"Years. I told Serena now because I had a feeling that she would need to really be able to talk to me about things. Also, telling her over the phone would have felt strange."

"Wow! Okay. How?"

"You all aren't really that quiet when you discuss things here. Not to mention I have known Serena since we were children. I noticed a lot about her I pretended not to see."

"Good to know we need to be more careful. I wonder who else knows."

"Andrew," she said without hesitation.

Mina sighed in frustration. "We're really bad at keeping secrets, aren't we? Well, if you heard us here, it makes sense he would have too."

Just then, Andrew stopped by and took their order.

Mina decided to broach the topic after he left to place the orders. "So, I noticed you went out the other night with one of Serena's new friends. Did you have fun?" She felt that sounded casual enough.

"Yes, I did. I worried it would be weird for Serena, but we talked about it and she's fine. I was really glad we did though since he asked me out on another date."

Mina froze at that momentarily and struggled to hide her reaction.

Molly continued, "It's been nice, especially since Melvin ended things the way he did."

"Do you still have feelings for Melvin?" Mina hoped she did.

"Hurt feelings, but that probably isn't what you meant. No, I don't want him back. I worry about Kunzite and I dating though."

"And, why is that?"

"I know he is from Serena's past. We talked about that, and he just got incredibly vague on his past relationships. Honestly, I was hoping to pry and see how much you remember. You all knew each other."

"What did he say?" she tried to feel out how she should answer.

"He said he would be honest about his relationship or their relationships in general."

"Relationships?"

"Apparently, all of the guys discussed it together. He said they had all been in relationships, but the girls they were dating don't really exist anymore. None of them are tied to past relationships, but that they all do remember them. I mean what does that even mean?"

Lunch arrived then and Mina used that as an excuse to organize her thoughts. The last thing she wanted to do right then was eat though. She had thoroughly lost her appetite. She was trying to hold in her feelings.

Molly looked at her and grew pale. "Be honest. Which one of them did you date? Don't deny it. I just saw it in your face."

"Kunzite." Was all she choked out. She was devastated. She looked at Molly and didn't understand what she saw in her face.

Molly took a deep breath and sighed. "I am canceling the date."

"You don't have to." She desperately wanted her to cancel the date.

"One, you do actually exist. That means he lied to me. Two, you aren't going anywhere. If I continue to date him, I'm the one going to be left hurting in the end."

"You heard what he said about me."

"He's angry right now. Serena saved them all. They were dead, and she not only brought them to life, but she also healed them and accepted them just as they were. She's like a beloved sister to them all. Your relationship with her will be restored, and he will forgive you and will have that whole past with you. I truly didn't know about the two of you…" She chuckled. "That is why Serena wanted to know where I saw this going. She would never betray a trust, but she did make sure I wasn't too emotionally invested right now."

"She really looks out for her friends." Mina smiled at that.

"Yes, she does. I'll stop by and see Serena tonight. I'll tell them both what I know and cancel the date."

"You really don't have to."

"This is just as much for me and my dignity as it is for you. Who wants to be second best to anyone?"

"You're an amazing woman." Mina reached over and grabbed Molly's hand.

"I just had this conversation with Serena. Now to find the guy who agrees. Oh well. No hurry." She wasn't bothered by the decision. The whole conversation made her feel stronger. She was calling the shots, and it felt good.

They finished their lunch, chatting about their day and plans for the weekend. Mina left in a better mood and with a deep appreciation for Molly and her kindness. She didn't know if Molly was telling her the truth about her feelings on ending things with Kunzite. She knew it might just be kindness that made her cancel her date. Mina knew she was just selfish enough and in love enough to let it go.

That evening, Molly stopped by the house. By the time she left, three things had happened. One, she had canceled her date with Kunzite for that weekend. Two, Kunzite was rethinking his stance against dating Mina. Molly had been right. He had already begun to see the woman he had fallen in love with emerging in her. Three, Jadeite was smiling. He knew for a fact everything was over between him and Raye. Now, he had to just convince kind, sweet, and perceptive Molly about that. Well, he knew he first had to talk to Kunzite and Serena about his budding feelings. Man, did he think that sounded girly.

Serena sighed as she went into her room. She was glad Molly figured it out on her own. She had so many strong loyalties that she didn't know what to do at times. Her phone rang as she sat on her bed.

"Hello, Darien." She wondered if he could hear the smile in her voice.

"I realized we didn't plan a time for our date. How does dinner and then an art gallery sound? I could pick you up at six." He instantly wished he led with something else. Now she could hang up.

"That sounds wonderful. I'll be ready."

He wanted to ask about her day and find out more about her. He had resolved to and it came out as, "I've missed you." Great, he thought. How awkward does that sound?!

"Honestly, I have missed you too."

He quickly realized he was smiling like an idiot, and he didn't care. He was so happy that he was not able to reign in his awkwardness. He next led with, "I forgot why I wanted to be a doctor. I know I had a reason before I met you, but that reason paled in comparison to how I felt about it when I was with you. I remember my new reason now. You were proud of me and my abilities as a med student. That felt so good. You're the first person I can ever remember being proud of me."

"You aren't becoming a doctor because of me." She didn't let on how it made her feel for him to be opening up even more to her. This was what soothed her broken heart. These moments started to put the pieces back together. The moments where she could fully believe he loved her and was vulnerable with her.

"No, I'm not. No matter what I become, it would matter more to me because you're in my life. I adore you and I want to build a future you can be proud of. I do know you haven't promised me that future."

"I haven't, but we both know it is one I am hoping for too. One where we are together and where you don't cut me out of decisions. You owe me the right to be involved in making decisions regarding my life and what I am willing to risk."

"You're right of course. It was arrogant of me to unilaterally make that decision no matter what I believed at the time."

"At least you're learning from it."

"I adore you."

She smiled and felt such joy to hear that from him, "Charmer."

"That isn't anything I have ever been accused of before."

"I was teasing. The fact that you aren't really a charmer matters to me. It makes it mean that much more to me. It makes me not feel like you're just saying what I want to hear to get me to forgive you completely."

"I'm only trying to be transparent with you. I almost ruined things when I wasn't truthful. I can't do that again. I can't lose you. I can't go back to living like I was. That wasn't living. That was surviving. It was terrible."

"It was terrible. I agree. I still love you; I still need you. Please, please, please fix this. Please regain my trust. I need you in my life so much it hurts," she spoke from the bottom of her heart.

"I would do anything for you. Especially that. I wish I were there. I would kiss you now."

"Oh, would you?" She said playfully.

"I would try and slip you some tongue too." He chuckled.

At that, she burst out laughing. "Well, I would let you."

He made a deep growling sound and said, "I'll be right over."

She laughed at his joke and wished him goodnight. He told her goodbye.

Fifteen minutes later, Serena was answering the door, and Darien swooped in and kissed her. She felt the warm press of his lips before she opened her mouth to him. He made a deep growling sound again and slid his tongue in her mouth. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close, deepening the kiss. Her whole body buzzed, and so did his. He ran his fingers through her hair and then parted from the kiss. They were both left gasping for air.

He leaned forward and kissed her forehead. "Goodnight, my love." He then turned around and walked back to his car waving as he pulled away.

"Smooth." Nephrite said behind her.

"Huh?" Her blank mind supplied.

"Exactly." He chuckled. "Goodnight. I will skip the kiss though." Then he sauntered upstairs.

Jadeite had witnessed it all from the kitchen. He had been stealing some of Zoisite's ice cream, so he had been standing in the dark. He smiled a genuine smile, finished off the ice cream, and threw the carton away. He decided he needed to talk to Darien. It was time to begin to restore their relationship.

Jadeite would do anything for Serena.


	14. First

blueeyeddevil06, thank you for going through and editing this.

Chapter 14 – First

Darien sat on his stool at the Arcade before he had to head to class in an hour. Andrew smiled and asked how it went with Serena. Darien told him a brief description of their conversation up to and including the kiss. Andrew poured him a cup of regular coffee.

The doors slid open and Andrew looked up sharply. Darien turned to look at what he saw, and Jadeite waved to Andrew, sitting down on the stool next to Darien.

Jadeite didn't wait for Darien to speak, "You talked to Serena. She told us the gist of it."

"I did," Darien replied. Andrew began cleaning the counter. He didn't want to miss this conversation.

"You had some balls last night with the kiss. I was impressed. It was the first time I have seen you act like Endymion."

Darien decided being compared to Endymion must be a good thing. "Thank you."

"Don't fuck this up."

"I won't. I have no choice but to make this work. Without her, I'm not me. More importantly, I would do anything for her. I'm completely overjoyed that means being with her, and I won't give that up."

"Good. That is what I wanted to hear. Are we good now?"

"I should be asking you that question. I honestly thought you would be the last to forgive me."

"Well, you were operating without all of the information."

"I tend to do that."

"True. I will be blunt about this. When Serena brought us all back and saved us, I was fucking furious to learn how you treated her. Then, hearing how Raye treated her nearly put me over the edge. The scouts were not well liked by any of us four. When she needed them the most, they weren't there for her. Raye was the worst. I decided then and there that I would be Serena's biggest defender. At the time, it was to make up for Raye's failure; I felt responsible for Raye in a way. It changed over time. She has become a sister to me in everything but name and blood."

Darien listened, "That makes it seem even more likely you would be the last to forgive me."

"You're still missing it. I will be the easiest to reconcile with. The only work you must do to get my friendship is to work things through with Serena. She was the happiest I have ever seen her this morning. That makes us okay in my book."

"Really?" Darien asked, wanting it to be true.

"I'm sure."

"Then, we are okay." He was glad to be on his way back to a friendship with one of his generals.

Jadeite chucked, "Good. I'm not sorry I hit you though. Just so we're clear."

"Don't worry. I never apologized for hitting him either," Andrew spoke up.

Jadeite smiled and said, "I knew I liked you."

"You're both bonding over punching me?"

"So?" Andrew asked.

"Just pointing it out," Darien stated.

Jadeite asked for some coffee, and Darien spoke again, "The coffee is really strong today. I feel it kicking in. Can you pour me one to go? I should leave a little earlier than planned. I want to get something from the store for Serena before class."

Andrew did just that, and Darien walked out the sliding doors.

Andrew chuckled, "This morning was the first day I gave him regular coffee. I have been substituting decaf out of spite for over a year."

Jadeite laughed at that, "We're going to be great friends."

Sapphire walked out of the Arcade with the knowledge that his plan was finally back on track for the first time in months.

That evening, Serena was home with the guys, and the doorbell rang. Zoisite stood up and answered the door. He came back into the living room and handed a package to Serena.

She read the note out loud, "Dear Serena, I hope these chocolates are half as sweet as you. With deep and abiding love, Darien." She opened the package, pulled out a box of chocolates, and smiled. Then her eyes got large, and she took off running. She made it to her room, ate one chocolate, then hid the rest of them. She breathed a sigh of relief and went to join the guys again.

Nephrite was laughing when she entered the room. "Good thinking, Serena. Zoisite would have finished them off with that sweet tooth of his!"

"Hey, I still want to know who finished my ice cream. Whoever it was better buy me a new gallon soon. Next time, I'm going to hide a surveillance camera in the kitchen then kick their ass."

"Language," said Kunzite, very aware Serena was in the room.

Jadeite quipped back, "Okay, Steve Rodgers." He looked at Serena. "You're just beaming right now."

"It is the first gift I have gotten since that horrible break up. I never thought this would happen, and it is really sinking in."

Serena had decided to give her and Darien a real shot. She wasn't going to hold out her feelings or curb her actions. They would be tempered by his and reflect his, though. Not as a tit for tat, but she was afraid of showing more affection than he did. She realized the week before their breakup that he was avoiding her, and she missed all the signs since she was working on restoring the generals. Deep down, she knew she was still afraid of being burned again. Hence her decision to let his actions guide hers.

The next morning, she was in front of Andrew at the Arcade asking for two to go cups of coffee and Darien's schedule. Andrew was happy to tell her that Darien was soon to have a break after his Bio lab and what door he exited the building from. He handed her the coffees, and she thanked him.

She made her way to campus and waited under a tree outside for class to end. Secretly, she hoped he would kiss her again like he did the night he showed up at her door.

Darien finished his lab and thought about Serena's call last night. She had loved the chocolates and the note. He closed his bag once class was over and said goodbye to the professor. Some of his fellow classmates caught him at the door. They wanted to compare notes from the lab and asked if he would join their study group.

He agreed to meet them to study for the next test. He was trying to be more outgoing to please Serena. He also knew he needed to get to know his fellow classmates better. Now that he was happy, it didn't seem so hard to make the effort to get to know some more people.

He racked his brain for their names. Rick, Stephen, and David. He was pleased he remembered them.

They talked about the lab and the conclusion they all came to. There were smiles from the other guys when they realized he came to the same conclusion he did. It amused him when he noticed that.

They stepped out of the building, and he heard Rick shout, "First!"

"What?" Darien replied.

"I saw her first. It's like dibs. Look! She's walking over here," Rick said, sounding excited.

Darien turned to look, and Serena was there with two travel cups of coffee walking towards him, smiling. "Nice try," he stated and walked over her, sliding his hand behind her head and kissing her deeply.

She smiled up at him when he broke the kiss and handed him one of the cups.

"Thank you," he said to her. "It's such a treat to see you here."

"Andrew was nice enough to tell me your schedule."

"I knew there was a reason he was my best friend."

"Do you have to study before your next class, or do you have some time?"

"I absolutely have time for you." He heard shifting behind him and saw Serena's eyes glance that way. He really wanted to call her his girlfriend, but he knew he couldn't do that.

He turned to the guys to introduce them, "This is Rick, David and Stephen." They all nodded their heads when he said their names. He turned to Serena and said, "and this is Serena."

She smiled and added, "his girlfriend." She gave them all a sweet wave.

Darien's eyes opened wide, but only Serena saw it. They really had something to talk about now before his next class. He was so afraid to get his hopes up. This was what he wanted with all his being.

Darien looked to his classmates and said, "I'll meet you at the back-corner table in the library tonight at six to study." They all got the hint and headed off.

David was just loud enough for him to hear him call Darien a "lucky S.O.B.".

Darien mentally agreed. He then took Serena's hand and led her to an outdoor table to sit down. He never let go of her.

"Girlfriend? Don't get me wrong. I want that, but you specifically said that wasn't what we were."

"Sorry, I should have asked."

"No, don't apologize if you mean it. If you don't mean it…"

"No, I mean it. I have decided there has been enough damage from lies. I don't really want to just be your date Saturday night. I want us to be an us again."

"I love the truth."

"Good, then stick to it," she mock warned.

"I will, and the truth is I'm ridiculously happy right now." He smiled then leaned and gave her a kiss that made her toes curl.

Serena and Darien sat there for the next forty minutes talking about his schooling and her lessons at the dojo. He was impressed and made a note to himself that they should probably train together. He bet she would look hot in her workout clothes.

When it was time for class, they split up after he kissed her lips sweetly. She smiled the whole way home.

That evening, Serena was in her room when Jadeite knocked on her door.

"Come in," Serena said. Jadeite stepped through the doorway with Kunzite trailing after him.

"Can I talk to you and Kunzite in here? I want this conversation to stay private."

"Absolutely. Go ahead and close the door."

They all sat down, and Jadeite took a deep breath, "I don't know how to say this, so I am just going to start talking. Feel free to interrupt me if I'm not making sense."

Kunzite quipped, "This is going to be a late night then."

"Shut it…. Actually, what I meant to say is that was funny. You know you're the funniest of all of us, right?"

"What do you want from me? I'm not lending you money or giving you one of my kidneys."

"Nothing like that. This has to do with Molly. I'm interested in her, and I think I need to talk to both of you before I ask her out."

Serena asked, "Isn't she going to have the same problem with you that she had with Kunzite?"

"No, she really isn't. You don't remember my relationship with Raye in the past, and if even you did, you never had the full story back then. I was close to breaking up with her before the Beryl mess started. She was passionate, felt everything out loud, and I never wondered where I stood with her, which was great. The problem with it was that it was exhausting too. I couldn't be Darien's general and make her happy as her boyfriend at the same time."

Serena looked concerned, "Did you talk to her about this?"

"In a way, yes. Well, we argued a lot. The arguments mostly centered around me not being attentive enough. If I'm being very transparent here, she was never your most devoted scout. We didn't have a phrase for it then. Nowadays, she would be called 'high maintenance.' That hasn't changed, and my role with Darien is heading back to what it was then."

Kunzite was shocked, "you reconciled with him already?"

"Yup. You shouldn't be shocked really. We talked yesterday morning, and we're good. Once he made things right with Serena, that was enough for me."

"He's okay with you punching him?"

"He's okay with Andrew. He punched him and has been switching out Darien's regular coffee with decaf for over a year. To be fair, he doesn't know the second part."

Serena and Kunzite chuckled at that and Serena asked, "Why did he punch him?"

Jadeite gave her a look and said, "Do you really even have to ask?"

"Oh."

"Back on topic. I wanted to, in a way, ask for permission to ask out Molly. Convincing her will be on my shoulders, but I don't want any hurt feeling from either of you. Kunzite, you dated her first,and I wanted to know if it was okay to ask her out. And Serena, she's your oldest friend. I want to assure you that Raye is in no way a possibility for me if I date Molly or even if I don't."

Serena said, "It's alright with me. The decision is obviously up to her. Just be kind to her. Melvin really shook her confidence. We talked and Kunzite helped restore some of it, even with the one date. He was kind to her."

Kunzite smiled, "That is good to know. Molly is a wonderful woman, and I respect her a lot. You won't have any problems from me. Be careful though. Raye doesn't know you were going to end it. She may be a problem for Molly."

"Very good point, and thank you. I will take that into consideration, and it will actually change my plans. I'll have to have a talk with Raye before I go out on a date with Molly. If she will go with me."

"That sounds like a prudent idea," Serena said.

"Well, thank you both for listening to me and the advice. I really do appreciate it." Jadeite sighed and stood up, "Well, I'll be back. I have ice cream to buy."

"It was you!"

"Surprising only to you, Serena," Kunzite snorted.

Friday night, Serena headed out the door to Lita's house where she was meeting the scouts for a girl's night. The youma attacks had stalled for the time being, and they were hoping to be able to have that continue through the weekend.

She arrived at the same time as Amy, and they knocked on the door. Lita greeted them, and so did the smell of delicious food as they stepped into her apartment. Lita ushered them into the main living room, and Raye and Mina were already there.

This was the first girl's night Serena had attended with her scouts in over a year, and she felt odd. She sat on the couch and tried to settle her nerves.

She was trying to reconnect with them, but she thought about what Jadeite said. She didn't remember that much from her past at all. His current opinion of Raye was colored by Serena's perceptions. She knew that. It interested her that now her opinion of Raye in the past is colored by his perceptions. Oddly enough though, their opinions seemed pretty on point with each other.

Several things happened that night that she was prepared for, and one that she was not. Or, at least one thing happened that took her by surprise.

She was prepared for the questions as to how she revived the generals and why she didn't tell them what she was doing. She was prepared for the questions on what she had been doing and her time training at the dojo. She was also prepared for the questions about each general, what they were like now, and their feelings for the girls.

She answered a lot of the questions, but for some of them, she changed the subject. She knew the girls had to get some of their answers directly from the guys. Serena didn't want to be caught in the middle.

What she was not prepared for was every time Raye looked at her and began to speak, Serena flinched. It was imperceptible to others but startled her nonetheless. It had been a year since she had really talked to Raye, and yet her body still reacted that way.

She quickly realized the worst part of it all. Her instinct wasn't all wrong. Her cutting comments were given out to Serena a minority of the time, but they were still there. She learned, according to Raye, she had 'flaked out on them and left the city', that she had only come back to 'chase a man', she had gained weight, made sure she had the generals at her beck and call, and didn't value her scouts anymore. Each was said with a smile and a laugh. She knew if she challenged Raye on them, she would say she was only kidding.

Serena stayed quiet every time.

She watched Mina not react to Raye's comments, and she knew they would have to have a talk soon. Yes, this was girls' night, but she was still the Moon Princess. She wasn't even being respected by Raye in a way a friend should be respected. This had to be stopped.

Serena knew that Mina was the one who needed to address the problem. It was her duty. More than that though, to Serena, she knew that Mina stepping in would look good to Kunzite. That pleased her. She knew Molly had been right. After all, she knew the two even better than Molly did. Kunzite and Mina needed to reconnect; they were perfect for each other. If Mina stepped in and was more protective of Serena, she knew that would go a long way to helping Kunzite reconcile with her.

When it was time to go, she decided that, overall, she had a fabulous time. She was happy with the idea of getting together again. That even included Raye and her comments. She grew strong enough that the comments had bothered her but didn't hurt her. That was a relief to her.

The next night was Serena's first date with Darien, or as Nephrite pointed out her, "second first date." She felt like a walking cliché. Her bed was covered in clothes, and she had changed her outfit three times. Her style had changed since graduating high school, and she wondered about Darien's reaction.

She stepped into the hall and saw Nephrite. His reaction was instantaneous. "Wow, you look sexy. Darien is going to choke on his tongue."

"Thank you. That answers my question. This is the outfit," she then twirled.

The doorbell rang, and she heard Kunzite answer the door. She knew he had been planning on it. She hovered at the top of the stairs, trying to listen to what he was going to say.

"She's literally a Princess and under your protection tonight. If you hurt her, I will kick your ass."

Darien replied, "Nothing you do could be would be worse than losing her. Trust me. I know from experience."

"Yes, and it was all your doing."

"Yes, and I won't ever lose her again."

"But, you didn't lose her. You broke her heart and walked away."

"I did, but I didn't walk away unscathed. You know the truth. You know I wasn't made to live without her. She's it for me. I was reborn into this time only because her mother wanted to give her a second chance to be happy. I know that now. I was so afraid she could leave like everyone else left me that I left her. I was a fool."

"Yes, you were. Good answer, by the way. Everyone in this house wants the two of you together. Honestly, not one of us generals wanted her dating other guys. Even when we were at our angriest with you, we still wanted you to get back together. We remember how amazing you were together. Don't lose the chance to be like that again."

"I'm trying to picture what it was like back a thousand years ago between us all. I hope to experience what it must have been. The honor and respect you have shown regarding your oaths has been humbling. To think I had four people that devoted to me, floors me."

"We'll get there. Jadeite is the closest. We spoke about it, and he's not wrong. We need to have a 'guys' night', as Serena would call it. Now, you're more like I remember you to be."

"Well, my princess awaits. Hopefully. Can you let her know I'm here?"

At that moment, they heard high heels clicking down the stairs. Darien didn't swallow his tongue. His mouth dropped open comically, and he was at a loss for words.

"I'm ready to go," Serena said.

There was no reply. Kunzite elbowed Darien, and he collected himself. "Wow, you look hot! Err, I mean you're beautiful."

Serena winked at him and smirked, "I know."

They walked out to his car, and he held the door for her. She kissed his cheek, slipped in, and put on her seatbelt. He got in, revved the engine and smiled at her, pulling away from the curb.

Darien said, "in the spirit of truth, this is the best day I've had in over a year."

"Since we are telling the truth, it is a close second for me." She laughed when Darien whipped his head to look at her. He was obviously hurt.

She shrugged and said, "I brought four people back to life and healed them of the dark energy poisoning them and making them harm people. And, I did it all in one day."

"Fair enough," he replied. "Wait, all in one day? All of them? I guess I need to be filled in on what happened. I assumed it took longer than that." He shook his head in amazement, "I already knew you were powerful, but wow. Just wow."

"Thanks. My uncle helped me figure out the final piece. The important piece of how to actually get them out and living."

"Gosh, you're amazing."

"I happen to think we're amazing together. So, let's go with that for now."

"I love you."

"I will never get tired of hearing that. I love you too."

The rest of the evening was everything he could have wanted and more for their date. Dinner was not only perfect, but the service was perfect also. Conversation never stalled, and he was enthralled with her. He caught up more on her year away, and he filled her in on his. He felt his sounded like it was lacking, but it had been. Straight A's and impressed professors were great, but that was all his life had been.

And, that was when it really hit him. Those days of loneliness were over. He would still have the academic success, sure. He felt incredible joy that, now, he would have her too. Success and an epic love that spanned a thousand years, two lifetimes, and the solar system. That was when he knew. It was time to buy her a ring.

The art gallery opening was a bit of a reality shift for him. He expected to go in, talk to her about the art, and just have a pleasant time. He wasn't expecting what was coming.

Once they walked in, he saw that the artist was there, and he also noticed quickly that so was one of his professors. He mentioned both observations to Serena, and she just smiled.

Shortly after entering, his professor noticed him and came over with his wife to chat. He was a favorite among all his professors, after all.

What he then experienced was the full effect of the amazing woman he loved. She absolutely charmed his professor and his wife.

Serena had quickly fallen in love with the necklace that Lauren (he found out that was her name) was wearing. Lauren said that it was one of her own designs. Serena pulled out her phone and insisted she show her which website she could go to purchase one. Before the conversation could even move on, she had already ordered two. The pride in Professor Hart's face when looking at his wife was obvious to anyone looking.

Darien's success in class and his ability to retain information was brought up, and Serena had beamed with pride. He felt ten feet tall at that point. He felt he grew even taller when Serena spoke of his dedication and determination and how she admired that about him.

They moved on to discussing the art, and Darien was impressed with her knowledge. He was the first to admit he didn't know a lot about art. He knew what he thought was pretty, but the theory was not something he had time to study. Also, a lot of art is about evoking emotion, and he was not high on the emotional IQ scale. Still, she sounded knowledgeable to him, and that was enough.

Except, apparently, it wasn't "enough." The artist overheard her comments, and he came over to join the four of them.

He singled out Serena and pointed to one of his pieces, asking for her opinion. The group had not gotten to discussing that painting yet, and Darien was curious where this was going.

They all listened as she gave her opinion. She had quite liked that piece, and she said how it had made her feel joyful. She went on to discuss the colors used and the technique he used in the brush strokes. She asked for his motivation, and he replied that she should tell him what she thought it was. She told him she felt it was "true love." He looked thoughtful and let her keep talking.

When she was done, he smiled and thanked her. He then asked if she would give her opinion on the piece next to it. Darien was engrossed in what she was saying and wasn't paying attention to the artist anymore.

She finished, and he turned to look at the artist who had a tear in his eye. He said what a joy it was to hear what she had to say. He explained that so few actually "got" the true heart of his art. He then stated that everyone wants to feel heard and understood, and tonight, she gave him that. He thanked her and had to leave to talk to someone who was purchasing one of his pieces.

His professor clapped him on the back, said that she is amazing and that he was "a lucky dog", and escorted his wife off to a late dinner after they said their goodbyes.

Serena stepped away to use the restroom, and Darien went into action. He quickly went to the gallery worker, had him pull the "true love" painting off the wall, paid with his credit card, and said he would pick it up the next day. He gave him the information and asked that it be wrapped. By the time Serena got back, he just had to sneak his signature, which he did as she took a last look around at the artwork.

The kiss he gave her at the door that night blew all the others away. He realized he got a bit carried away when his right hand reached down and grasped her ass. She moaned, so he didn't move his hand away.

He drove away that night in a state of bliss he didn't know he could achieve.

Sapphire had kept Diamond in the dark regarding his movements for a long time now. He knew he had to continue to be careful. It would be foolish to slip up now so close to his goal. The question he needed to solve was a tricky one. Should he contact Endymion? And if so, how would he keep from being detected by Diamond?

He knew Diamond was keeping a close watch on Serenity. Contacting her was not an option. The five youma Diamond destroyed in an angry fit after seeing the end of her date showed him that. It was his own good planning that put those particular youma in his brother's path. They were Diamond's most loyal sentient youma. It was a good example to the rest of the sentient youma that Diamond could easily turn on them. It made Sapphire's job easier. Loyal followers don't get as suspicious and are less likely to report suspicions if they have them.

He knew Diamond made more mistakes when he was angry. He didn't act in even his own best interest when enraged. Now, his moves would be much harder to predict. Sapphire knew that all his moves would need to be triple checked from here on out.

And then, he made the decision. He would have to make first contact with Endymion. The princess was possibly in danger now. Diamond was now a wild card.


	15. Sunday Night Fight

blueeyeddevil06, thank you for going through and editing this.

Chapter 15 – Sunday Night Fight

Sapphire stood in the control room Sunday night and sighed. He was expecting Diamond's anger to result in his current order, and he was mentally reviewing his plan and checking for anything he could have missed. Not finding any loose threads, he opened a portal and released eight youma.

He knew they were strong; they had to be. Diamond would be watching and analyzing this battle. He also knew that Princess Serenity's team would be able to handle them. He had calculated their strengths in battle and, most importantly, knew something he hadn't reported to Diamond. Endymion's generals were alive and protecting Serenity. Diamond would believe the team would be outnumbered. He smiled, thinking about how they were not.

Diamond entered to view the battle and nodded at Sapphire. Sapphire stepped through a portal to watch the battle from the sidelines and wait to seemingly attempt to kidnap Serenity. Show time.

Amy paled as she saw the readings on her Mercury computer. Eight youma were attacking in the downtown shopping district. She got on her communicator and sent out the call. "Eight youma, I'm sending you the coordinates. Serena, let the generals know."

Serena sighed, "They are here, and they heard you. Everyone, get there as quickly as you can. We'll already be there. Mina, split you four into two groups when you arrive, and engage the youma in groups."

Serena and the generals transformed, and the generals teleported to the location Amy had supplied. Serena teleported to Darien, and once he transformed, she brought him with her to the fight.

They split into groups, and Serena quickly told Darien to follow her. They engaged the youma and tried to protect the civilians that were not quick enough or smart enough to have already fled.

The girls arrived, and the battle turned in their favor. One by one, the youma were turned to dust by Serena. She waited for the next one to be weakened, and that one was dusted too.

Sapphire outwardly looked shocked when the guys arrived first. Internally, he was thrilled. Once Serenity arrived, they already had a position for her secured where she could fight but not be vulnerable to the enemy. Perfect. He couldn't have asked for more.

Once the youma were destroyed, he appeared in front of them and made a grab for Serenity. He then stated, "This will all be over once you come with me." He missed being able to capture her, and Serenity disappeared from the battle. Immediately after she left, Sapphire stepped through the portal.

Once Sapphire stepped through, he came face to face with Diamond, "You almost had her! We were so close. Where did Endymion's generals come from? All of our initial readings said they were dead."

"I'm as surprised as you are. I will have to rethink my strategies going forward now to plan for this new development. May I have a few days to come up with the perfect attack plan? You were right. I almost had her. The perfect strategy could make her yours by next week."

"You have two days. On the third day, you will attack. Her room is all prepared for her. Her Silver Crystal will be suppressed, and her chains are ready for her. She will look beautiful dressed in white and chained by the neck. I get the chills just thinking about it." Diamond smiled and left the room.

Sapphire smiled to himself, glad that he had bought himself some extra time. He left the room out of the opposite door as Diamond.


	16. Monday Part One

blueeyeddevil06, thank you for going through and editing this.

Chapter 16 – Monday Part One

Monday came for Darien, and it turned out to be a wonderful day. Serena had promised not to go anywhere without at least two of the generals with her, and they would make sure she kept that promise. He was relieved she had them and himself to protect her. He wished she trusted the girls more, but he noticed her unease with them.

The moment he stepped into Professor Hart's class, he noticed him waving him over.

"Yes, Professor?"

"It was a pleasure meeting Serena Saturday night. My wife was completely charmed by her."

"She will be glad to hear that. She really liked meeting you both."

"You're serious about her?"

"I'm going to be looking for an engagement ring soon."

"Good. I was hoping to hear something like that. I have a few internships I want to recommend you for." Darien was handed a folder. "Please look through them, and tell me if you aren't interested in any of them."

"Wow! Thanks. May I ask what the questions about Serena had to do with this? I'm not following."

"You'll have a partner that will help you advance in your career. You're incredibly smart, but so many opportunities will come from the relationships you have developed, especially at the level of success you will achieve. Always remember that the Chief of Staff has strong connections within the hospital and with the Board of Directors. Serena is perfect for helping you achieve that; she has an amazing ability to connect with people. Once I met her, I knew it would be worth my effort to get you the best internship."

"I will absolutely keep that in mind. Thank you for the help and the advice."

After class, Darien looked through the folder. He was excited reading through them all, and one of them would be incredible. He couldn't wait to tell Serena. He called her, and they made plans to meet up that night at her place.

Darien stopped by the gallery after all his classes, and the painting was wrapped and ready for him to take to Serena. The artist had included a note to her, and he placed both in his car.

As he pulled away, Andrew called him, asking him to stop by the Arcade. Someone was there hoping to talk to him.

Darien arrived and was pointed to a table in the back. He looked over, and the person was facing away from him, wearing a baseball cap. He cautiously went over and paled as he sat down.

Darien ground out, "I never caught your name. I was too busy making sure you didn't kidnap Serena."

"So, that is Serenity's name now. Huh."

"It seems you have us at a disadvantage. What. Is. Your. Name?"

"Sapphire. Apparently, you don't remember me, Endymion."

"Darien."

"You don't remember me, but I remember you."

"Obviously. Tell me something that is interesting, and I may stay a bit longer." He was not pleased to be at a disadvantage when it came to Serena's safety.

"I'm on your side."

"Bullshit. You tried to capture Serena, and you sent youma to attack us all."

"This has to be quick, so suspend your disbelief for now and listen. My brother, Diamond, believes Serenity and her Silver Crystal belong to him."

Darien was pissed and was about to speak when Sapphire held up his hand and stopped him.

"Yes, she's yours. I know that, and I'm trying to make sure Diamond doesn't get his hands on her."

"You sure seem like you're helping him."

"And yet, you won, and I didn't actually get a hold of her. I was aware the generals were back and never informed Diamond. I planned on you winning that battle and the ones before it. Haven't you noticed that no one on your side has gotten hurt?"

That caused him to stop and think about the battles. "Yes, now that you mention it. I was really just focused on Serena."

"As you should be. You don't remember the past. Diamond wanted her back then too. He was defeated but not before he almost forced himself on Serenity."

Darien looked up sharply. "I won't let that happen!"

"Actually, I won't let that happen. I was there, and I remember everything. She was tortured first. She wept for you to come save her. She begged for you to save her for days. He chained her up and made her crawl like a dog. He loved seeing Princess Serenity, Crowned Princess of the Silver Millennium, brought low and begging. He is sick. I saw everything, and I couldn't stop it."

Darien was distraught to hear she suffered and begged for him for so long. "Why should I believe you can help me now?"

"Because now, I have time on my side and a plan. I have had to follow Diamonds orders, but I have been subverting them any way I could. I plan to draw Diamond out into the battle soon. We need to coordinate an attack; he cannot make it out alive."

"How do I know you aren't tricking me?"

"Have Amy go through the scan on your brain activity again. I'm the one who implanted the nightmares on Diamond's orders. I also made sure the tampering was detectable. There would have been no trace if I wanted to truly hide it. The scan should show an anomaly that I implanted as a backup. It is safer to use that to fill you in. I can't stay much longer and not be found out."

"She didn't mention an anomaly."

"No, the computer would have ignored it as an unimportant variable in the readout. Have her isolate it and decode it. She's smart enough."

"You're telling me I broke up with Serena over a nightmare implanted on the order of a man who tortured her and tried to rape her?"

"That's what happened." Sapphire showed all his disdain at that fact to Darien in that one little sentence.

Darien grew sick to his stomach.

Sapphire spoke again, "Meet me tomorrow at the bench in the park on the north side of the lake at noon. Diamond will be eating then, and he won't be looking for me. I'll tell you your next move."

"If I believe you, I'll be there. I'll contact Amy."

"I'll see you tomorrow then," he said with complete certainty. He knew Endymon had to show up or risk Serenity's safety.

Both exited the Arcade. Darien had first told Andrew he would talk to him later. If what he said was true, and he suspected it was, then they had an ally on the inside that they didn't even have to search out. That meant one more person was protecting Serena. He was glad to have all the help he could get.

He called Amy to go back through the scan and told her briefly about what Sapphire had said to look for. He told her to call when she had it decoded.

Serena's day had begun with a call to Mina asking her to meet her for lunch at Serena's place. She asked the guys to stay out of hearing distance. She wanted a private talk with the leader of her scouts.

Mina arrived right on time, and Serena served up their lunch in her uncle's office. It had a small table to meet at, so she used that. It lent an air of formality to the meeting.

Serena started, "My year away has given me time to reflect on my role and the role of my scouts. As the leader of my scouts, I have called this meeting with you."

Mina looked startled. She was not expecting Serena to sound so in charge and serious.

Serena continued, "Are you aware that my uncle is not only my father's brother in this time, but was also my father's brother during the Silver Millennium and sent here by my mother, Queen Serenity?"

Again, Mina looked startled, "No, I don't remember him. I didn't know he was from our past."

"He has been a huge help in my training on my Silver Crystal and my duties as princess."

"That's wonderful."

"I have come to realize that you girls are not my friends."

Here, Mina froze. She was shocked and hurt, and all those emotions showed on her face, including her posture. "Oh… Um…."

"You're all more important than that. You're my guardians and my confidants. When that breaks down, I'm just a girl with superpowers. I can't be marginalized to that by the four of you."

"I don't think that we are doing that." She looked puzzled.

"Sorry, but I'm not asking your opinion on this one. I'm coming to you as the highest-ranking member of my sailor scouts and letting you know what needs to be done."

"Yes, Princess." She realized she was about to be given orders. Mina also realized this was what she was trained for and what had been lacking in Serena before.

"Please, don't mistake me on this. I come out of respect to you and your abilities. I trust you to handle my scouts, not because that was your role in the past. I trust you because of who you are now."

"Thank you," Mina smiled and was encouraged.

"I have several issues to address. First, how is your lunch?"

Mina laughed, "Delicious." It was so like Serena to ensure someone else was taken care of first.

"I'm really glad. Now, moving on. I'm home today because the generals are guarding me after the kidnapping attempt last night. I agreed that we need to take extra precautions until we know what we are dealing with."

"That was a really great idea."

"Yes, it was. Why wasn't it yours? Why aren't my guards protecting me? Why are Darien's generals here, keeping me safe? Why didn't one of you bring up the idea of my protection? And why, when the kidnapping was attempted last night, did the generals step in and stop it?"

"We weren't close enough to you to protect you. They were right there!"

"Exactly my point."

Mina's eyes widened, and she remained silent. Then she spoke up, "Shouldn't Luna be here also?"

"No. She may not have realized it yet, but she's no longer my advisor. My uncle has filled that role now and much better."

"Oh…. I don't have an answer for you to your questions."

"Don't worry. I will give you time to formulate one and get back to me with the answers. I will be expecting them."

"Yes, Princess."

"Next."

"There's more?"

"Yes. Next, and it is not directed at Amy, but I will use her as an example. She gave me an order last night when she contacted us all. She ordered me to bring the generals. I said nothing then, it was not the time, but I am not to be given orders anymore."

"I will make sure the girls know."

"There's more."

Mina looked dejected. "More?"

"Raye. I will not tolerate being put down and criticized by her anymore."

"That's just the way Raye is. She doesn't mean any harm."

"That's the way Raye is with me, her princess, and I call bull on that. She does mean harm. She hates not being the center of attention. If she cannot get in line, I will have to deal with her, and it will not be pleasant. She criticized me four times during our girl's night, and I realized then that I instinctually flinch when she addresses me. She did not criticize anyone else the entire night. I paid attention."

"I didn't realize." Mina knew she would need to reflect on that.

"This next part stays between you and me."

"Of course."

"Jadeite is going to be having a talk with her soon."

"Oh, fabulous! I'm so glad that they are going to work things out. I hope I can talk to Kunzite soon too."

"You misunderstand me. Jadeite has no intention of 'working things out' with her."

"What!? Is that even possible?" She grew pale. What did that mean for the rest of the girls?

"If things hadn't progressed the way they did one thousand years ago, he would have broken up with her then."

"No!" She was shocked.

"He was unimpressed with her devotion as a scout then, and now that hasn't changed. He wants to make it clear there isn't any chance for reconciliation before he starts dating someone else. He wants Raye to be aware of that in order to minimize any reaction she would have if she saw him on a date."

"I thought that we all would just automatically end up with the generals again. I thought it was like you and Darien."

"You were mistaken. And, even if you weren't, Darien and I took a lot of work and heartache. I just wanted you to be aware that Raye will be volatile soon."

"How are you so sure she will act out?"

"She isn't happy when things aren't exactly to her liking. Her grandfather spoils her and has always given her everything she wanted. It came from him trying to make up for the lack of love she received from her father. It made her expect that she will always get what she wants, and it wasn't a loving thing for him to do for her. She will take it badly, and you will need to keep her in hand. She will come after me even more. I'm her favorite outlet."

"I'll be careful, and I'll talk to her about her treatment of you."

"No, you will fix her treatment of me. If I step in, it means you couldn't handle it, and it will mean bigger consequences for her."

"Yes, Princess."

Serena smiled at her and said, "Last scout related thing I wanted to say was great job last night coordinating the scouts' attacks!"

Mina was extremely happy with the praise. She had seen how well Serena and the generals worked together and knew Serena recognized a well-coordinated attack from lots of training.

"Now, let's move away from the official topics, have some ice cream, and catch up. I know Zoisite has some in the freezer." She got up and went into the kitchen to serve some up and Mina followed.

"Shouldn't we check with him before we eat it?"

"No need. I can buy some more, and if he notices it is gone before I do, then he will just blame Jadeite." She laughed and they returned to the office with the ice cream.

They chatted and laughed, and Serena noticed more of the distance she felt around Mina was disappearing. She was happy with how things had gone, and she knew Mina didn't even realize that she was paving the way for Kunzite to see her act more according to her role and gain his respect.

Shortly after Mina left, she received a call from Darien, and they planned to meet there for dinner that evening. She went to plan her outfit since she was excited to see him.

An hour later, Mina contacted Amy, Lita, Luna, Artemis, and Raye and asked them all to meet her at the temple at seven. She planned on staying and talking to Raye privately afterwards.


	17. Monday Part Two

blueeyeddevil06 thank you for going back and editing all of these.

Chapter 17 - Monday Part Two

Jadeite walked into the Arcade, grabbed a table, and waited for Raye. He hoped doing this in public would help keep her from yelling. He wasn't holding out much hope on that. When the clock showed exactly 3:30, Raye walked in and then sat down.

Andrew came by and took their orders. Jadeite had given him a heads up on the situation. He wanted to make sure he had their table, so he had the excuse to walk over and step in if it became too loud. He sighed and mentally corrected himself; when it became loud.

Once he had his coffee and she had her tea, Jadeite reluctantly began. He could tell by her smiling and flirting that this would be a huge shock for her. He might have to only tell part of it now and wait for the shock to die out before telling her everything.

He took a deep breath and started, "With Molly's announcement and the resulting conversations, it has come to our attention that you girls are expecting past relationships to be rekindled. I'm not speaking for any of the other guys, but I felt I need to make you aware that, in our case, that will not be happening."

"Very funny." She looked irritated.

"I'm not joking. I don't want you waiting for something that isn't going to happen."

"Of course it's going to happen."

"No. I'm informing you that we aren't going to be dating."

"You can't tell me what to do. I get a say!"

"I'm all for women making their own decision, but that isn't what this is. No matter how empowered you are, you don't get to choose who I date if it isn't you."

"You have to be kidding me! We're soulmates for crying out loud!"

"We're not. Technically, only Darien and Serena are soulmates. They are rare, and Queen Serenity, of course, investigated if her daughter's guards had soulmates. You didn't. She was disappointed. She always wanted the best for all of you."

"You'll change your mind soon enough. I'll forgive you for this and forget it ever happened." She examined her nails and then took a sip of tea.

He sighed and realized this was going to be bad. He would have to tell her about their past. "I won't. You were unaware back during the Silver Millennium that I was close to breaking it off with you. Had Beryl not come and destroyed everything, we would have been over within a week of when the final battle happened."

"No. We're going to be together, and you're going to shut up and get over it. This is about Serena, isn't it?! She bats her eyes, and everyone comes running. I'm not fooled by her! How do you not see it?! You care more about her than you do about me! I'm the love of your life! She's just some spoiled moon princess you decided to feel bad for!" She was yelling and had drawn the attention of others in the arcade.

Andrew looked over, and his previous courage deserted him. He decided that Jadeite was the one trained to go into battle, not him. He stayed behind the counter.

Jadeite tried to hold in his temper, and then he calmed and smirked. He just realized he won this battle and would help Serena at the same time. "Thank you for so beautifully making my point. You don't deserve to be one of her scouts. I wonder if she has realized yet that she should be ashamed of you. You only have powers bestowed on you by the Silver Crystal in service of the Moon Princess. Do you really believe that you were special among those from Mars other than being one of five princesses? Queen Serenity handed you your powers and made you powerful. You're fooling yourself if you don't think Serena can take it all away."

He sighed as he realized his temper wasn't really reigned in. "She knows all about how you all received your powers, and she knows she can remove them. She has found a new advisor, and he has trained her on many things about her own powers. You're heading down a dangerous road, and I hope you're prepared for the consequences."

"She has nothing to do with us!" She screamed.

"And, this is why we always fought. I have oaths I made, and Darien and Serena are very much a part of me."

"That was the past. Don't be stupid and miss out on me!"

"It isn't the past. You're only alive now because you're supposed to be serving Serena." It boggled his mind that she didn't see that she was reborn to serve.

"She isn't that important!"

"She is, and you overestimate your own importance. Get over yourself. I'm sure over you."

"Now I'll only take you back begging!"

"You're delusional. When you see me out on a date, stay away from me, and leave us alone. Oh, and I'll be informing Serena about your views of her."

"I'm so scared," she mocked.

Jadeite chuckled. "You aren't, but you should be."

Jadeite walked home and tried to calm down. When he reached his room, he realized it was going to take a while.

He had to figure out how he would protect Molly if she agreed to date him. This would take some planning and some help from Serena. It didn't even cross his mind to talk to Mina.

Amy looked shocked at the results she had gotten from Darien's brain scan. She instantly sent them over to him, and he told her to let him handle revealing them. She only had time to skim the results and was horrified over the past experiences that it indicated Serena had lived through.

Darien knocked on the door, Serena answered, and he swept her up and kissed her. She clung to him through the kiss and smiled at him when he pulled away.

Darien stepped back and picked up some folders, an envelope, and a large thin box and stepped in the house. "First off, this box is for you to open. I love you."

The guys and her uncle heard Darien arrive with a gift and came down to watch her open it. They were incredibly impressed and enjoyed watching the tremendous joy she radiated when she saw it. They were elated to see her so happy.

Darien's emotions at watching her open the painting made all their feelings seem pale in comparison.

Serena shouted out, "True love! You bought me the painting about true love! Oh, it was my favorite. Thank you." She kissed Darien and clung to him even tighter than she did for the kiss at the doorway.

"I thought the title of the painting was fitting, and I knew you liked it. I bought it when you stepped away."

"I absolutely love it and will hang it in my room where I can always see it. I am so happy!" Tears of joy slipped down her cheeks.

"I'm so glad you like it. Here is a note for you from the Artist. Let's go, and I can help you hang it. There is something I want to tell you about what happened this morning. Also, afterwards, I would like all of us to meet. I have received more information on the enemy."

Nephrite shook his head as they walked up the stairs and out of hearing distance, "Poor Darien. He didn't seem pleased another guy wrote her a letter." They all chuckled.

Darien followed her to her room, and they hung the painting. He then told her all about his conversation with his professors and showed her the possible internships. She was thrilled, and he reveled in it. This was what his success had been missing. Everything was better when he experienced it with her.

He kissed her, and she leaned into him and deepened their kiss. He wrapped his arm around her and pulled them down on her bed. He held her close and sighed into the kiss when her body settled on top of his.

The kiss ended, and he just held her close while she rested on him. "You're mine, you know that right? You're mine, and I'm yours. This is it for us. You have had your last first date."

She smiled at him. "Yes. I did try to tell you that before."

"You're brilliant, and I'm an idiot."

"That is the smartest thing you have said," she laughed, kissed his cheek and stood up. He groaned from the lack of contact and stood too.

"Okay, let's go down. I have a bunch to fill you all in on. Fair warning, I may end up getting punched at some point. I have earned it."

"What did you do?" She asked nervously.

"Nothing new. Don't worry. I found out more about the enemy and the nightmares that were implanted in my head. It will just bring up old anger."

She took his hand and walked down the stairs with him. "We're stronger together, just remember that."

"I'll never forget that again, my love."

Mina arrived first and observed Raye, "Hard day?"

"I spoke with Jadeite today, and I'm aggravated."

"Anything I can help with?"

"He thinks Serena is better than me, and it pisses me off."

"She is our princess."

"Oh, not you too!" she huffed.

Amy then arrived, and the conversation stopped. Mina was glad to wait on the rest of the conversation for now. She didn't see things going well.

She was not wrong. Amy and Lita took correction well and acknowledged that Serena was in the right, and they would be careful to stop issuing her orders. Raye scoffed and wondered when she decided she was better than them. She made sure to let them know her objections and feelings throughout the whole meeting.

Luna was surprised that Serena's uncle was now her advisor and grew quiet. Then asked, "She won't give me a second chance?"

Mina looked at her, "He seems to know a lot about her Silver Crystal and had been helping her train. I don't know if you could be as much of a help to her."

The conversation moved on to the danger Serena is in, and that her guardians were not, in fact, the ones guarding her. Raye rolled her eyes, and the other girls looked puzzled. Mina let them all know Serena was expecting answers from her as to why and that she seemed disappointed.

The meeting wrapped up and everyone left except Mina. The conversation went worse than she had hoped it would. In the end, Raye announced she didn't want one self-important girl messing with her true friendships.

Mina gave up and made her way to Serena's house. She grew dejected since she had failed her yet again. It stung.

Darien had informed them all about his conversation with Sapphire that day. Her uncle turned red and slammed down his fist while the others looked angry.

Her uncle said, "I should've figured out a way to castrate him then! I will kill him with my bare hands! That sick monster. I saw you when Endymion managed to rescue you. You were mutilated. Your mother had to use the Silver Crystal to heal you, or you would have been covered in scars. He was obsessed with you submitting to him, and he didn't care how he got you to do it."

Serena gasped and read what Amy had found in Darien's brain scan.

Darien wrapped his arms around her. "You're safe. You have all of us, and it really even seems you have Sapphire protecting you."

"Why did he try to kidnap me?"

"From what I can tell, he was ensuring we knew you were the target and would put more protection around you. I don't think he was positive he could get away to warn us."

"Oh."

They read more of the information he had planted, and Sapphire's plan came to light.

Kunzite stated, "So, he does want something from Serena."

Serena replied, "Can you really blame him for wanting to be cleansed of dark energy? I can save him and his people. All of them were corrupted by Diamond's bid for power. They had no say in being turned for his ambition."

"You're right, and we know what that feels like more than anyone."

Darien was explaining the meeting he had tomorrow as there was a knock at the door.

Kunzite answered it and came back with Mina following.

She looked at Serena and said, "I met with the girls, Luna, and Artemis this evening. I spoke to them about their behavior. Amy and Lita are sorry and will be more respectful in the future. Luna was sad to no longer be your advisor, but she didn't object. Raye, on the other hand…. I'm sorry, but I have failed you." She was heartbroken that she was returning to Serena with bad news.

Jadeite spoke up and gave a recap of their conversation at the arcade. "You didn't fail her. I couldn't get through to her at all. I put you at a disadvantage by talking to her before you did. She left in a snit, and I doubt she was ready to listen when she talked to you."

Mina thanked him for his encouragement and informed Serena about the details of their discussion.

Serena looked her in the eyes and said, "I'm realizing I was a lot more upset about the attempted abduction than I thought I was. I was harder on you than I should have been, and I'm sorry about that. You're not responsible for Raye's actions and words. She is. I'm sorry. Thank you for talking to her and coming to me to let me know what she said."

Serena looked to her uncle and sighed. He replied, "You don't have a choice. Do you want her at your back when Diamond comes?"

"No," she acquiesced.

Serena closed her eyes, focused, and her Silver Crystal floated in front of her. She lifted her hands and willed Raye's transformation brooch into her hands. Then she removed the power from the brooch and set it down. She kept her eyes closed. She concentrated on Raye's energy and removed her power from her. Serena also cut her link to the Great Fire.

She opened her eyes and said, "It's done."

Mina looked and asked, "What is?"

"She's no longer a Sailor Scout. Her powers have been removed, and she is just as she would have been if she were born a normal human."

Mina looked shocked and then replied, "I didn't know you could do that."

Serena announced she was tired, let Mina know she needed to inform Raye, then left the room with Darien. She hugged and kissed him at the door. "Call me when you get to your apartment so I know you made it home safely."

"Of course, my love."

Mina stayed in the room to give Serena and Darien privacy.

She decided to speak up, "Really, thank you, Jadeite, for speaking up for me. I hated that I failed her. I've been doing that a lot, and I don't want to add to the list. I really am grateful you have all stepped in where I have been lacking."

Kunzite studied her and spoke, "We haven't exactly been keeping you in the loop. You and I should meet tomorrow and go over a plan after we speak to Darien about his noon meeting. Would a quiet dinner meeting here work for you?"

"Absolutely!" She beamed.

Serena smiled from the doorway, said goodnight, and went up to bed.


	18. Mina's Morning

blueeyeddevil06 thank you for going back and editing all of these.

Chapter 18 - Mina's Morning

Tuesday morning, Mina reluctantly headed over to talk to Raye. She knew this conversation would be unpleasant to say the least. She was about to tell her friend she was no longer a scout.

She knocked on Raye's door, and the door opened to a panicked looking Raye.

Raye fretted, "I can't find my transformation brooch! It's gone! Do you think someone managed to sneak in and steal it? Maybe the new enemy saw how powerful I am, tracked me down, and stole it! What am I going to do? I looked everywhere for it!"

Mina sighed and sat down, "Please sit. You didn't lose it at all. I'm here to talk to you about what happened as the leader of the scouts."

"Please don't subject me to more about 'Perfect Princess Serena.'"

"I have no intention of doing that." She grew upset at Raye's tone, and it was making everything easier to say.

"What a relief!"

"I'm here to talk about 'Powerful Princess Serena' who used the Silver Crystal to call your brooch to her and remove your scout powers and your connection to the Great Fire. She did all of this after hearing your unrelenting opinion on her from both Jadeite and me."

"She isn't powerful enough," she huffed.

"She is. I saw it happen. Go to the Great Fire and see for yourself. I will wait here," she offered.

Raye left the room immediately and slammed the door. Mina waited for an hour and a half.

Raye stormed back in, "I'm going to kill her."

"No, you won't, and if you try, I'll stop you. You made your own bed. Now lie in it. I warned you, Jadeite warned you, and you didn't listen."

"I will never forgive Jadeite."

"When will you realize that he doesn't care?" This was getting ridiculous to Mina.

"Get out! I don't want to speak to you!" Raye couldn't comprehend how Mina could tolerate Raye having her powers taken away. She was supposed to be her friend, and she didn't stop Serena from stealing not only her powers, but her connection to the Great Fire too.

"Fine. I'll still be happy to talk to you when you're ready."

"Please hold your breath. It would be entertaining."

"Lashing out isn't helping you. And, keep in mind that Jadeite will be dating again soon. Don't embarrass yourself by making a scene."

Mina left, hoping her conversation would help redeem herself in Serena's eyes. She knew Serena said that she didn't hold her responsible for Raye not coming to notice that she was out of line. She still felt guilty. She also hoped anything she could say to help Jadeite would make a difference to the situation.

Mina made her way to Serena's house, knowing Kunzite promised to update her if Serena was going anywhere. Nephrite answered the door when she knocked and let her know Serena was in the den reading manga.

Mina thanked him and knocked on the doorway to the den alerting Serena to the fact that she was there.

"So, how goes house arrest?" She joked.

"Ha! I'm telling the guys you see it too! I'm getting really bored here, and they grew so desperate to stop my whining they bought me a bunch of manga. So, I win in the end."

"Yes, you do," Mina laughed.

"Can I guess how it went with Raye?"

"Sure, but I won't be impressed if you get it right. It went much like I expected."

"I'm sorry you have to deal with her. You're the leader of the scouts, but their loyalty is supposed to make your job easier." Serena sighed.

"I haven't been serving you well. You were right when you pointed that out."

"I wasn't completely fair then. I was frustrated but mostly scared when I talked to you. Also, I want to be closer to you girls like I used to be."

"I want that too. I know Amy and Lita want that also. What if we three moved in together? Surely Darien could help us find a safe apartment building like his. It will give an enemy less access points if you live in an apartment building."

"I like that idea. Maybe the guys can move into the same apartment building. It would be nice to all be close."

"Your uncle would be disappointed."

"Good point."

"You would prefer to be near the guys, wouldn't you?"

"Honestly, yes. I'm sorry. It does sound fun to live together, but I like my living arrangement."

"I understand."

"I have an idea. Why don't you sleep over in my room tonight after your date with Kunzite?"

"It isn't a date."

"He's cooking dinner, and you two are eating it alone together. It's a date."

"He's cooking?" Mina was excited to hear that. She knew she found him incredibly sexy, and she was fascinated with him.

"He has seen you stepping more into your role as leader of the scouts. That's a good thing."

Mina looked at her questioningly, "You're trying to help us get back together, aren't you?"

"I am. I care for you both. Molly was right, and I was glad she saw it before I had to step in. I hope you don't hold it against her."

"Thank you. And, I could never hold it against her. She was so perceptive and kind with me. I didn't tell her my feelings, nor did I even hint that they should break up. I didn't really act in a way that deserved her thoughtfulness to me, but I am glad she did it anyway."

"It's good to hear you feel that way. Kunzite was not broken-hearted over Molly ending things. I think he just enjoyed her company and her intelligent conversation."

"Lucky he can get that without dating her."

"Ha! Yes, and you don't even know how true that is. When Jadeite approached Kunzite about his own feelings for Molly, Kunzite didn't hesitate to encourage him and give him advice about asking her out."

"Wow. Raye is going to be furious. Hopefully, she listens to what I said about not embarrassing herself in public when he is on a date."

"Thanks for doing that, and he will appreciate any help you can give him on that. Just keep an eye out too, please. They have all taken such good care of me."

"You don't even have to ask."

"Now, back to Raye. My guess is that she had some self-important reason her brooch was missing, she insulted me, you informed her I removed all of her power, she went to the Great Fire to check, and now she is furious."

"Got it in one!"

"That couldn't have been fun."

"I survived."

"Please don't feel you have to avoid her for me. If you two stay close friends, I won't be hurt in the least. I hold no illusions that she will want to talk to me any time soon."

"She doesn't want to talk to me either right now."

"Hopefully, she comes around."

"If she does, will you give her power back? Can she be given them back?"

"Technically, it was never 'her power' to begin with. All the power comes from the Silver Crystal. I think a sister of hers may have been reborn also. I don't think my mother ever fully trusted Raye. I'm thinking of reaching out to her, but I'll wait a bit." Serena felt badly for the way she phrased it, but she needed to shake Raye up and knew Mina would tell her. The girl exists, but she wanted Raye back. Sure, she was mean to her now, but there had been a time when they were close, and Serena missed her.

Serena had learned by this point that it was impossible for her to give up on anyone.

Mina hugged her and left. She had several errands to run and an outfit to purchase. If Serena thought tonight was a date, she needed the perfect outfit. She enjoyed a shopping challenge and finding an outfit that said "serious guardian meeting" and "don't you want to kiss me" was going to test her shopping abilities.


	19. A Plan Comes Together

blueeyeddevil06 thank you for going back and editing all of these.

Chapter 19 - A Plan Comes Together

Darien arrived an hour early at the park bench and studied as he kept an eye out. He was extending Sapphire a certain level of trust, but he was still being careful. He wanted to make sure that there wasn't a chance he was being set up for an ambush.

It turned out to be a quiet hour, and he was pleased with how much studying he had gotten done. When an hour had almost passed, he put away his books and waited.

Right at noon, Sapphire showed up and joined him on the bench.

Darien spoke first since he wanted to maintain some semblance of control of the situation. "Well, I'm here and listening. Amy found everything you said she would on the scan. We noticed you do get something out of this."

"I knew that she would be able to find it. I will like working with her. Yes, I get something out of all of this if you look at it from your perspective."

"Oh, and what is your perspective?"

"While I do get something out of it, I'm not as much about me as you're implying. I want our people healed, and I want to be a good leader to them. A better one than my brother."

"So, you want your brother's title?"

"I want my people to stop suffering from his selfish ambition and obsession. And yes, I want to rule. Surely, you can't fault me for that, Your Highness." Sapphire looked at him appraisingly.

"I can't, and I don't. I just want you to put all your cards on the table."

"That, I can do. I was truthful when I stated my desire to protect Serenity. Her kindness to me despite her situation was astounding. She radiates kindness and sweetness. That said, she does have power, and I want the death of my brother, healing for my people, to be able to rule justly, and to be part of the Silver Alliance that Serenity will bring about again."

"You want a lot. I will speak with Serena on our alliance, but everything you ask for sounds reasonable. Well, Diamond's death may not fall under that heading, but I'm more than willing to kill him. That can be listed as one of my demands. I want his death to happen at my hands."

"Be my guest. No matter how much I want him gone, fratricide is not high on my list of things I want to do."

"Now, you said you have a plan?"

"Yes, well, I attack tomorrow on Diamond's orders. Is there any time that would work better for you? I make no promises other than to try to attack then."

"How about early evening? That way, we can all get dinner first and still get enough sleep at night."

"I'll shoot for seven. I'll be attacking in the park, so there will be less people at that time. Expect a big show of force. I must make this one look good. Diamond is expecting her capture tomorrow. I will fail, but I have to make it look like it wasn't from poor planning. Diamond needs to get frustrated enough that he shows up to a battle."

"That would make it easier to kill him," Darien jested.

"Yes. Will everyone be showing up?"

"Raye will not. Don't send any that would be weakened by fire. Gosh, I'm hoping you aren't going to double cross me."

"I'll put it this way. Do you think anyone would double cross Serenity?"

"No." Even Raye and her attitude wouldn't go against Serena. She is mad now, but betray her? Never.

"I won't be able to send you a message to let you know when Diamond is going to finally show up at a battle. Sorry. Pay attention to how many youma are at each one. I can and will play on his pride enough to convince him he won't need many youma to help him out when he gets involved. It is the best secret code I could come up with."

"He thinks highly of himself, does he?"

"Yes, and it has helped keep him in the dark. I just tell him how smart he is and how I know I could never fool him or go against him without him finding out immediately. He eats it up."

Darien chuckled, "Very smart. You're sure he doesn't know though?"

"I would be dead the moment he figured it out. If I stop showing up, you'll know he is on to the plan."

"You're risking your life?"

"Aren't we all? And, I'm risking a brutal death. He won't simply kill me."

"Fair point," he conceded.

Sapphire handed Darien a file. "Here is the breakdown I was able to get on the dark energy fueling Diamond. Amy should be able to analyze it and the Power from the Silver Crystal for Serenity to be able to best contain Diamond's power so he can be killed."

"Thank you. I'll show it to her. Is it different from the power you possess?"

"Yes, he is more powerful. Diamond would have never agreed to accepting power if he didn't get to be the strongest."

"It isn't his power?"

"No, it was given to him."

"By whom?"

"I'm still trying to figure that out. I'll keep trying, but I may have better luck once he's dead."

"So, you're telling us we have another enemy once I kill Diamond."

"Hence, my desire for an alliance. I would like to fight with you."

"Yet, you would no longer have any power."

"No, but I have advanced technology that you would be given access to."

"We'll continue this discussion with Serena after Diamond is taken care of."

"Of course, she would need to be involved. I just wanted to let you know what I bring to the table. You wanted me to show all my cards."

"Nice metaphors, and you're right. That is what I asked for. I appreciate your candor."

"My whole plan hinges on all of your cooperation. I have one question. Why won't Raye be there?"

"I am going to trust you on this. Please don't make me regret it."

"I won't."

"Raye has been acting out and has been insubordinate to Serena. It has been dealt with in a way that has taken her out of battle readiness."

"Good."

"What?"

"You're surprised I want all of those protecting Serenity to be completely loyal and devoted to her protection?" He sounded incredulous.

"You're in love with her," Darien guessed.

"Honestly, yes. It doesn't matter or affect the actions I'm taking though."

"Yet, you sent the nightmares." Darien seethed.

"And, I made it so you could figure out they weren't real. I was disappointed in how quickly you caved to them. She's worth more than a month of struggles."

"You want us together? Why should I believe that?" He let the criticism slide. He could admit Sapphire wasn't wrong.

"Would she be happy with any man but you?"

"You're okay with that?"

"I realized I don't love her like you do. She's an ideal to me, and she is up on a pedestal in my head without flaw or blemish. That's not sustainable for anyone once it comes under closer scrutiny. I don't want my vision of her tarnished. I would rather hold her up as an archetype of the 'ideal woman' from a distance."

"I would argue she holds up under closer scrutiny, but I don't want you to even try."

"Fair enough."

"Anything else I need to know and pass on to the others?"

"I need to make a grab for Serenity again this time. After the final youma is destroyed, let her know she needs to be ready to attack me. Make sure she knows to make it look good without killing me. I need Diamond to decide his strength is required to intervene. It has to be her, or he will want me to try to separate her from the group next time."

"I'll make sure she knows and is prepared for that."

"Good. The strength of my power is in that folder too."

"You place a lot of trust in us."

"I have to. Without you, my plan is worthless."

"Noted. We do appreciate having someone on the inside and to not be left guessing as to our enemy and his motives."

"Remember, there will be ten youma. I will avoid any that need to be weakened by fire. Hopefully, I will see you all tomorrow night at seven. I need to go. If I stay much longer, I risk being discovered."

"Stay safe. I'm starting to like you; it would be a shame if you were brutally murdered."

Sapphire laughed, "Gee, thanks."

Next thing Darien knew, he was alone.

Darien made his way to Serena and called Kunzite, making sure he was one of the guys on duty right now. He was, and he said he was coming to meet them both. He called Amy next, told her he had more for her to analyze, and found she was home. He dropped off the file at her place and told her to call him with the results.

He approached Serena's door, and it opened before he even knocked. Serena leapt into his arms and kissed him. She stepped back and said, "We don't do that nearly enough."

Darien couldn't agree more. "We should begin fixing that immediately." He then leaned in and kissed her again.

She smiled and whispered to him, "I always thought you were smart."

"I'm brilliant," and then he was kissing her again.

She chuckled and said, "You haven't even made it through the door."

He stepped in, pressed her up against the wall, and his lips were on hers again. He deepened the kiss and pressed himself up against her. When he finally broke the kiss, he saw they had an audience. He looked over and said, "Next time, get lost." Serena blushed all the way down her neck.

"Yes, Your Highness," was Kunzite's response.

He shook his head and grabbed Serena's hand. "Where will we meet?"

Serena replied, "My uncle lets me use his office whenever I would like. Let's go there."

They all spent the next hour together in the office. Darien laid out Sapphire's plan, motivations, and his own opinion of him. Kunzite admitted he didn't know a lot about him in the past. Serena was naturally worried for him and the risk he was taking. Darien had smiled and sweetly kissed her lips briefly at that.

When they were finished, they were all updated on the plan. Serena had agreed that she could work to suppress Diamond's power while Darien moved in to kill him. Kunzite informed Darien he would update and plan a strategy with Mina. He would then update them tomorrow morning as to any final plans. He knew they couldn't rely on the youma attack happening at seven.

With that, Kunzite asked if he was dismissed, and when he was told he was, he left the room.

Darien looked at Serena and took up her hand again. "Will you have dinner with me tonight? I can order something in. We can eat in the den and relax together."

"I would love that. It can't go late though. After the planning meeting, Mina is going to sleep over in my room."

"You mean their date?"

"Oh good, you see it too. Mina didn't, and I had to tell her. I think she went shopping for a new outfit."

"You're a great friend. I've seen the work you have done to get them back together."

"I just want everyone to be as happy as I am."

"I'm so glad to hear you're happy."

"How could I not be? I have my Prince Charming, my boys, my scouts, and my uncle. I have a very full life."

He kissed her again at that.


	20. A Time to Relax

blueeyeddevil06 thank you for going back and editing all of these.

Chapter 20 – A Time to Relax

Dinner didn't go exactly the way Darien had originally hoped. Jadeite crashed their date and made sure Darien ordered him food too. He knew when he was beaten, and he just went with it. Once the food arrived, they all sat on the floor and got comfortable. For Serena, that meant leaning up against Darien.

Jadeite started in on telling stories about Serena and the time she spent away from the city. He then quickly realized he was glad Jadeite was there. Darien laughed at the Rolling Stone t-shirt story, fell even more in love with her after hearing about five-year-old Lucy and the cat Stella, and revelled in all the rest of the stories Jadeite told.

Darien saw that Jadeite knew what a gift he was giving him, and he appreciated it immensely. He received the gift of knowing more about her year away and who she had become when he wasn't looking. He was given a look into the groups' private jokes and laughed so hard he cried when Jadeite told him about when she admitted she considered turning them into a necklace if she couldn't bring them back.

Darien did grow a little jealous over the necklace after that. He hadn't realized that it was a gift from the guys. He thought she had purchased it being as sentimental as she is. He could admit to himself he didn't like that she wore jewelry given to her by someone else. He also knew he wasn't a jerk enough to mention it to her. It was his own issue, and he knew he wasn't in the right.

Serena smiled the whole time and couldn't get over her joy. She was so glad Darien was connecting more with Jadeite and laughing along with him. This, after all, was what she wanted for him way back in the beginning. She wanted him to have his friends back. She tried to hide a happy tear. She didn't know how successful she was.

Nephrite knocked on the doorway, let them know he was home, and headed up to his room.

Jadeite got up and said, "Well, I'm going to head out for a bit."

Serena slipped in, "Please tell Molly about what is going on with Raye, and make sure you let her know I asked you to tell her. It will look better that way anyway."

Jadeite looked astonished, "How did you know? I didn't tell anyone."

Serena said, "Do you really think I wouldn't notice?"

"I'm sorry I underestimated your ability to read people."

"Not people, I can read all you boys."

Jadeite smiled and left.

The moment he was out the door, Serena was kissing Darien.

Once they parted from their kiss, Darien smiled at her. "That was a happy tear earlier, right?"

"Yes, it was," she blushed.

"I'm just making sure I read that right. I'm glad you're so happy."

"It was what I wanted from the beginning when I stole the stones. I wanted you to have your friends back."

"You're amazing. I still don't deserve you, but I won't try to convince you of that. I intend for us to be forever."

"Good, that's all I want."

"One other thing, Jadeite and Molly?"

"That's what we are shipping in this house right now. And, I learned never to bet against the boys and their ships."

"Oh, really?"

"Yup, we were the first one."

"Then I'm all in for them being right."

She gave him a peck on the lips. "I knew you would be."

He heard the dining room door open and close and said, "That's my cue to go. Have a great night with Mina. Make sure you both get enough sleep. Tomorrow is game time."

"We will, and I love you."

"I love you too."

He kissed her at the door before heading out to his car and back to his apartment. He knew he needed to make a change. Saying goodnight to his girlfriend was starting to feel wrong. He desperately wanted to say goodnight to his fiancé.

Serena walked upstairs, met Mina in her room, and gave her a hug. "So, you look professional but hot!"

"Good. That was what I was going for. Mind if I change into my PJs right away? These spanx are killing me after that delicious meal Kunzite made."

"Go ahead. I will change too."

They changed and then Serena asked," So, how was your date?"

"Amazing," Mina then blushed.

"Oooh! Tell me more."

"He pulled out my chair for me and made the most delicious dinner. He also couldn't keep his eyes off me."

"Refer back to my previous statement that you look hot." She winked. "I'm so glad to hear that dinner was amazing."

"We discussed everything, and by the way, wow! Sapphire really planned this one out! We have some things we want to discuss with you tomorrow morning, but that can wait. It's strange how a working dinner was so romantic. I guess it had to do with both of us helping each other to be successful. Does that make sense?"

"Yes, it really does. It is romantic to bring out the best in each other. It isn't just about feeling attraction. It's about enriching each other's lives."

"Yes, exactly! I'm not picking on Raye, I am using her as an example, but this is what I think she is missing when she wants Jadeite to come to her. It isn't about what Kunzite will do for me. Helping him succeed, supporting him, and receiving that same thing from him is an incredible feeling."

"You're building the foundation of a strong relationship, not just mutual attraction."

"See, you get it."

"Did he kiss you?"

"Yes, he gave me a peck on the cheek. It was sweet and romantic."

"Minzite, oh I am really bad at ship names. Kuzina?"

"Only slightly better."

"Darn." She looked mildly annoyed.

They both dissolved into giggles.

Mina looked at the painting hanging on the wall and said, "Now tell me about your gorgeous painting."

They spent the rest of the night catching up and chatting about their lives. Serena also warned Mina that Jadeite was meeting with Molly.

Jadeite grabbed a table at the arcade and waited for Molly. She arrived, and he instantly smiled. He was worried she would back out of whatever she would agree to calling this.

As she sat, Andrew showed up to take their order. Molly ordered a milkshake and Jadeite asked Andrew, "Have I ticked you off at all?"

"No, why?" He asked puzzled.

"Then I will have a decaf coffee. I just wanted to make sure you would be giving me decaf."

Andrew laughed at that and said, "One strawberry milkshake and one decaf coffee, I promise." And then went to make the milkshake.

Molly said, "I feel like I need this story."

"Well, it all had to do with Darien ticking off Andrew when he broke up with Serena. He gave Darien decaf every morning for over a year instead of regular."

"That is hilarious. I'm glad you told me. Does Darien know?"

"He does. After he and Serena got back together, he noticed the caffeine kicking in. Andrew later told him."

She laughed, and he joined her.

"I'm so glad they're back together. If they can't make it work, I don't stand a chance." She paused and realized she was thinking of Melvin. It still hurt.

Jadeite broke her from her musing, "That isn't the way things work. Your love life doesn't revolve around Serena's success, and she wouldn't want you to feel that way."

"I know. I tend to be melodramatic in the evenings."

"No, you're still hurting."

"I don't want to be. Can we change the subject?"

"Absolutely. Serena wanted me to update you on Raye, and I told her I would."

"I wasn't aware there was an update needed."

"Then Serena wanted you to be aware of what is going on with Raye, starting from the beginning," he amended and gave her a smile.

Andrew interrupted to bring their orders and then left them alone.

Jadeite then told her everything from Raye's digs at Serena, the conversation Mina had with her and, most importantly to him, his conversation with Raye. He thought Serena was brilliant to have him tell Molly about his conversation with her. He went on to tell her about Serena removing her powers and how she was no longer a scout. "It was astounding to watch her use her power to that extent," he said.

Molly looked shocked, "That is a lot to take in. Raye has really become cruel to Serena though. I'm glad she isn't letting her treat her badly. She can err on the side of being too forgiving to her own detriment."

"That, she can."

"It must have been a shock to Raye that you were going to break up with her back then. It must have hurt her to hear that."

"She needed to know the truth. It would be worse to let her believe we would get back together and for me to start dating someone else." He looked at her.

"You're right of course. That must have taken a lot of courage for you to confront her."

"It was the right thing to do. That was what was important. It wasn't about courage."

"You really think it wasn't courageous. You really are a great guy. You said you plan to start dating?"

He answered the question first, "Kind of. And, that is really wonderful of you to say." He was thrilled that she felt he was a "great guy."

She laughed, "How do you 'kind of' date?"

"That is two different questions. Dating implies multiple people. Date implies one. There is just one person I am hoping to go on a date with. You."

She snapped her head and looked directly at him. "Me? Won't that make things weird?"

"I talked to Serena, and she knows about my feelings. I also talked to Kunzite. You don't need his approval, but as his friend, I needed it."

"Why?"

"We're close, and I wanted to make sure that I acted with respect to him."

"No, I meant why do you want to date me?"

"At the beginning, you intrigued me. Serena would get off the phone with you happy and encouraged. Then we started asking about your conversations after you both hung up. You always supported her, but you pointed out things you saw that you didn't agree with respectfully. Then we arrived here, and I realized that you met the picture I had built of you in my head. You're kind, encouraging, strong, and loyal."

"You make me sound like Serena."

"There is a reason why you have been friends for so long. You're also very discerning, and I couldn't see you letting someone take advantage of you. So, not exactly Serena. Although, she is learning to stand up for herself; maybe she got that from you."

"So, is this a date then? I didn't even put on lipstick."

"It's only a date if you want it to be. I will be honest and say that I would love for it to be."

She smiled at him and said, "It's a date. I will have to prepare myself for Raye, won't I?"

"That would be a good idea. I will, of course, step in any time I can. Her anger will be because of me."

"That seems fair. I will keep you updated on her behavior. Please just respect me enough to let me handle her on my end. If I need you to step in, I will let you know."

"I will try. Let me know if I step out of line, but please give me grace. It's in my very nature to protect and defend."

"I'm aware, and I will let you know. What are you smiling about?"

"You. Us. I'm just happy. What are you doing Friday night? I would like to take you out on a date; one you actually know about ahead of time. That way you can put on lipstick."

She laughed at that and then said, "I would love to go on a date with you."

"Fabulous." He smiled.

Their conversation continued from there as they got to know each other a bit better. Jadeite left that night smiling and feeling incredibly happy.


	21. A Time to Plan

blueeyeddevil06 thank you for being my beta for this.

Chapter 21 – A Time to Plan

It was eleven at night, and Amy was getting really frustrated. Daren had given her a file telling her that it outlined Diamond's and Sapphire's powers. Hours into it, and she wished it had been as easy as he pretended. Now she was staring at the text Mina had sent earlier in the day, wondering if she should just call Zoisite.

At the time, the text seemed like wishful thinking. Kunzite has given Mina the numbers for all the Generals, and Amy lamented that it was unlikely she would get to use them anytime soon. Really, it was one number that haunted her, and now she was staring at it.

She grew frustrated with her own stalling and called Zoisite's number.

Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring.

A sleepy sounding Zoisite answered, "Who the hell is calling me at eleven at night? You better be dying right now, or I will kill you."

Amy tried to sound confident on the phone, "It is me, Amy. Well, Sailor Mercury. I, um, needed some help with something Darien gave me on Diamond and Sapphire. Um…."

Zoisite tried to sound more awake and kinder, "Hey Amy, sorry about that. I will have to program your number into my phone. I wouldn't have answered you like that. What can I do for you?"

"Sapphire gave Darien information on the dark energy fueling Diamond and himself. I am trying to work through it all and find a way for Serena to counteract it without her having to weaken herself in battle. I am struggling to meet the timetable set up. If I had more time, I could do this but…."

"You're brilliant. I know that. You've been given less than a day to do a week's worth of work. If you give me your address, I will head over, and we can work on it together."

"Thank you! That was what I was hoping to get you to agree to. I'm sorry it's so late."

"Don't worry. Hey, maybe we'll get lucky, and the attack will be at seven in the evening. An afternoon nap probably wouldn't hurt tomorrow."

Amy laughed, "I'm already looking forward to it."

She gave him her address, said goodbye, and hung up the phone. She then turned and tried to calm her breathing and her heart.

She spoke to herself, "Remember, Amy, they are disappointed in us all. He is just coming over for Serena and Darien."

Twenty minutes later, Zoisite knocked on her door. She opened it up and couldn't help but smile at him. He looked so handsome, and she noticed he smelled good too.

She collected herself and said, "I have a pot of coffee that just finished brewing, and if you take creamer or sugar, I have some. The coffee and the mugs are here," she pointed them out. "I also have snacks on the counter. I figured we will need to keep our energy up this late at night."

"Wow, Amy, thank you. This is perfect. And for the record, I take my coffee with two sugars."

"Noted." She almost giggled, but managed to hold it in. He thought she would need to know his coffee preferences. She hoped she wasn't reading into it too much.

He poured his coffee and got some snacks. He then said, "Alright, let's dive into the data. We have a morning planning session and a bunch of people to wow at it."

At three in the morning, Amy shrieked and scared Zoisite so badly he fell out of his chair. She was then laughing at him so hard tears came to her eyes, and she struggled to breathe.

He looked up at her from the floor and said, "Please tell me my humiliation was worth it. What did you find?"

She really tried to stop laughing, but with the exhaustion and the pressure she had been under, she couldn't get a single word out. She held the printout she had in her hands to him and pointed.

"Har. Har." He said, took the page, and immediately grew serious.

That calmed her down enough to stop laughing.

He stared at her and said, "What made you think to run this?"

"Your question earlier about what made energy dark. It got me to thinking that maybe it wasn't dark exactly. Maybe it was 'twisted' for lack of a better word. It is late or actually early and my brain hurts," she lamented.

"Your brain lacking sleep is better than most people at their best. This is brilliant! You are brilliant! She doesn't have to counteract darkness, she has to counteract the raw energy."

"You helped. I really wouldn't have gone down that line of thinking."

"It's sweet of you to placate me. I make random comments all the time. They never work out like this."

"I would argue more and point out you helped me distill the data and pull out the important factors, but I'm tired. We have our answer, and I want to go to bed."

"I could fall asleep right here," he commented.

"Feel free. That couch is surprisingly comfortable."

"Thanks, I will take you up on that."

She paused and smiled. She was kidding and never thought he would stay at her apartment. She liked the idea of knowing he was safely asleep on the couch. "I will get you a pillow and blankets."

"Can we talk a second? No big long talk, I promise."

"Sure. What did you want to talk about?" Her nerves took over. She was afraid of what he could say.

"I miss you."

And, that was not what she was expecting. She sat down on the loveseat harder than she meant to. "I miss you too. I didn't even know what I was missing until I found out about us in the past."

"Working with you tonight helped me realize how much I need you around. I don't have anyone who can keep up like you can. Let's be honest. I struggle to keep up with you. It feels good and being near you feels good."

"I was afraid to call you. I was afraid that you didn't want to deal with me."

"I was upset before, but surely you know that couldn't last. Or, maybe you don't remember. I'm completely entranced by you, especially when you're working."

"I don't really remember that well, but I'm glad to hear it."

He got up, walked over, and carefully sat down next to her. He then leaned in and kissed her. She felt like she was flying and on fire all at once. It was incredible.

He pulled back and looked dazed. "Now that is better than I remembered. We should probably sleep now. Will you go on a date with me on Friday? Situation willing." He asked with reason to hope she would say yes.

"Yes, situation willing." She smiled.

Amy stared at her ceiling in the early hours of the morning and tried not to squeal.

Serena grabbed Amy as soon and she and Zoisite walked through the door the next morning. Everyone else was waiting, but Serena didn't care.

Serena pulled her up to her room. "Amy! What happened?"

Amy shook her head. "I was stuck on the information that Darien gave me. I called Zoisite at eleven last night, and then we figured it out somewhere around three in the morning. I let him sleep on the couch."

"Ah," Serena said. "I'm glad you figured it out."

"He did kiss me."

Serena squealed. "That is fabulous!"

Amy asked, "Do we have time to be worrying about my love life?"

"Sweetie, with our lives, yes. If we waited until the quiet moments, we would miss out on a lot."

"Good point." Amy smiled and hugged Serena. "Well, then we have a date Friday if youma don't crash it."

"I will kill them if they do."

"Isn't that the…. Sorry, I'm catching up now. I'm lacking sleep. Very funny."

"Let's go down. I'm glad you're working things out with him." Serena smiled.

"Apparently, I'm irresistible when I'm working." Amy blushed.

"You will have to take advantage of that. Oh! You need glasses."

"What? My eyes are fine." She was confused by Serena's comment.

"No, you need those fake glasses. The sexy kind. Then you can study and get him all hot and bothered. Props never hurt."

"Oh my gosh! I can't believe you just said that." She laughed and shook her head.

They walked back downstairs and joined the group. Amy and Lita were given a brief update on Raye, and both looked uncomfortable.

Serena looked and said, "As far as I am concerned, there aren't any sides in this. I did what I needed to for my safety. I need to trust everyone at my back. That said, we were close once, and I hope to be again. I'm not asking any of you to stay away from her.

Lita spoke up, "She won't agree. She'll believe there are sides in this. That was where this was headed. She wants to be the leader, and she was trying to make us fall in line."

Everyone grew quiet and looked at her.

She spoke again, "Hey, I notice things too. I don't think we have a choice but to show her we have chosen sides. I'm not going to support her idea of a coup."

Nephrite smiled and said, "Nicely done."

Serena spoke up, "You really think she was angling to overthrow me?" She sounded shocked.

Lita looked sad, "Yes, I do. She wanted to be in charge. I thought she would eventually give up. I'm sorry I was wrong. I should have told Mina what I suspected."

Mina looked sad, "How did I miss so much?"

"You didn't miss anything. I knew she was always more open about it with me, but I let her talk so I knew what she was thinking."

Kunzite broke in, "While this is important, we have a more pressing need. Amy and Zoisite figured out what Serena needs to do to suppress Diamond. And, Mina, if you missed it, that was because you couldn't fathom anyone betraying Serena."

Darien was angry. Even at the worst he suspected of her, this was way too far.

Zoisite looked to Amy. "The floor is yours, you figured it out."

"With your help."

"I will accept thirty percent credit." He flirted with her.

She smiled coyly at him, "Let's not get carried away. Twenty percent, and that is generous."

Zoisite looked at her in awe. "You really are charming." Amy blushed.

Then they all got down to business. Everyone was filled in on Sapphire's plan, and Mina laid out the backup plan she and Kunzite had come up with.

Amy amended it saying she should take readings of Sapphire's energy output at the youma attack today. She then went on to explain that, if the readings were the same as what he gave them, it would make it all look more credible.

Serena beamed at her and agreed, and Amy felt so proud of her accomplishments in the past twenty-four hours.

Two exhausting hours later, they all had gone over the plan and knew it by heart. Serena had worked with her Silver Crystal in a mock battle and believed she could cancel out Diamond's power in a fight.

Darien took up her hand after the meeting broke up. He drew her aside and looked her in the eye. "Can you really help kill him?"

"I kill all the time." She looked puzzled at his question.

"You kill youma all of the time, not people."

"What about Beryl? She wasn't a youma."

"That's true. What we are talking about here is a different situation. You're going to render him powerless so I can kill him. In all practicality, he will be unarmed and defenseless. Can you handle that?"

"You're worried it won't feel like self-defense. It is though. He wants you dead and me under his power by any means necessary. He will… he has resorted to torture, and he even attempted to rape me. His own brother believes he will try it again."

"I completely agree. I just don't want you coming to any wrong conclusions during the heat of the battle."

"Thank you. You're right. It needed to be talked about now." She hugged him.

"I want him dead. Does that bother you?" He pulled back and looked into her eyes.

"It doesn't." Serena leaned in and kissed Daren. "I love you."

"I love you too."

"Forever?"

"Forever and a day." He reached up and brushed her cheek with the back of his hand.

By the time they looked around, Mina and Amy had left, and the Generals had made themselves scarce in the house.

Darien smiled, "It's nice that Kunzite remembers an order."

Serena kissed him again and said, "Go to class. I'm going to get a nap. I believe Amy was going to take one too."

Darien kissed her hand and left to get to his class. If he hurried, he would make it on time.


	22. Sapphire and Emerald

blueeyeddevil06 thank you for being my beta for this!

Chapter 22 – Sapphire and Emerald

Lita was fidgeting so badly she got up and paced. She hated inaction. The eyes of everyone else snapped to her and she sat back down. Not one of them had blamed her for her nervous energy. It was 6:47 and time had seemingly slowed to a crawl.

Jadeite spoke up, "Well, this all adds to Sapphire's ability to manage Diamond. If he can pull this off down to the minute, that's impressive."

Everyone else remained quiet and tense. The closer it got to seven, the harder it was for them to stay still. And then at 6:58, Amy's youma detector went off.

"Well, it's showtime!" Nephrite stated and transformed.

They left the alleyway in small groups to not alert a watchful Diamond that they were on to him.

When Serena stepped into the park, she quickly counted ten youma. She looked and rolled her shoulders. Time to go.

Sapphire watched them in formation against the youma and fought back a smile. He loved that his carefully thought out plan was working. He watched the sixth youma turn to dust and decided he better look busy.

He materialized in front of Serena, and she blasted him back. He went careening into a tree, and the wind was knocked out of him. He reminded himself he didn't want them pulling punches, but ouch! He was a thinker and didn't enjoy fighting or pain. He was currently in a lot of pain.

Serena looked and noticed Sapphire got up holding his ribs. She hoped she hadn't broken them. She then dusted two more youma.

The last two youma were easy to take out with all nine of them focused on them. Once the last was dust, she looked to Sapphire and noticed him disappear.

They all waited for him to come back and try to attack Serena. After five minutes, they turned and started to make their own ways home. Darien followed Serena.

Serena looked at Darien, and he could tell she was upset. "Do you think I hurt him too badly? I hope he's okay."

"I'm sure he's fine. You needed it to look good to convince Diamond that Sapphire wasn't betraying him. Anything you did will save his life in the end."

"I will try to remember that."

Darien kissed her and sighed, "I have homework to do. I need to leave, and I don't want to."

"Go do your homework so we can spend time together later." She leaned in and kissed him.

"You aren't motivating me to leave."

She looked up at him through her lashes, "Oops." She shrugged her shoulders.

"Tease."

"You know it. Go home, and I will see you tomorrow."

Sapphire held his ribs and walked over to Diamond as best as he could. Diamond was furious and wanted answers.

"You said you could capture her! I trusted you, yet you don't have her. Give me one reason I shouldn't kill you."

Sapphire tried to bow. "Sire." He sucked in a breath. "I believe I have a few broken ribs."

Diamond just stared at him.

"Sire, the plan is good. The distraction worked perfectly. She was just too strong for me. I have a plan." Here, Sapphire almost lost his composure.

"And, this plan is?"

"I can send more youma, and then I will attempt to capture her…."

"It didn't work!"

"I didn't finish, Sire. Then when they are all distracted by me, you step in and snap her up. No one is stronger than you." He struggled to take a breath. "You can get her while I play the fool."

"Yes. Yes, I think that will work. Go get those ribs looked at. Tell them I said that they can fix them."

"Yes, Sire." He tried to bow and almost fell over. He then slowly went to get his ribs fixed. Three were broken.

A healed Sapphire stood in front of Darien the next day and motioned with his head for him to follow. He led him into an alley.

Sapphire spoke first, "Tell Serenity I'm okay and good job."

"How many did she break?"

"Three. It hurt a lot, but it convinced Diamond."

"I thought you wouldn't be able to get away from him."

"I thought she wouldn't be able to make my injuries look convincing. Diamond completely bought the whole story. He believes I now have a vendetta against Serenity."

"What is our next step?"

"Diamond has given me every indication he will be at the next fight."

"We will plan accordingly."

"No more questions on my motives?"

"Ten youma showed up at seven o'clock. Amy ran a scan on you, and it matched the data you gave us on your powers. You seem to be carrying through on everything you have said. I'm nervous about it a bit."

"Why?"

"I want to trust you. I actually like you." Darien looked troubled.

"That's a surprise."

"It was for me too. Once this final battle is over, we decided you will have earned a spot at the table."

"The table?"

"You will be in on our planning and discussions." They had discussed it at their morning meeting yesterday, and they all agreed.

"Wow." Sapphire was shocked.

"You're in on the planning in a way now. We just can't alert Diamond by us all meeting with you."

"I'm honored." He was surprised how much he appreciated the idea of being part of a team. He had been working on his own for so long, and he was realizing how tired of it he was.

"You're protecting Serena. She's our priority; you have helped with that. Anything else we need to know?"

"I will send the youma in, and when Serenity is distracted, I will act like I'm trying to snatch her. It doesn't even have to look real to Diamond. He knows it is a feint. Diamond is really the one who is going to go after her. She needs to be ready for him as soon as she sees me move towards her."

"She'll be ready. We have it all figured out on what she needs to do."

"You should know we have a sister, Emerald. I'm not sure where her true loyalty lies. Diamond doesn't trust her to carry out his plan, and he almost killed her out of anger a while ago. If she becomes an issue, I'll let you know. Also, keep in mind the whole time that this is my plan. Diamond may go rogue and mess with it. Serenity will need to be ready for anything."

"I'll make sure that we all know that. Well, I'm glad your ribs are fixed, and do me a favor."

"What is it?"

"Never tell Serena that she broke three of your ribs. She would feel awful."

"I won't say a word." Sapphire smiled.

Later that day, Sapphire appeared before a furious Diamond after being summoned. From the moment he stepped through the door, he was on high alert. He schooled his features and bowed to Diamond.

"Sire, you summoned me?" Sapphire said with his head bowed still.

Diamond appraised Sapphire and asked, "I have your loyalty, correct?"

"Of course, you do. I serve at your pleasure."

"I have noticed some inconsistencies in the readings I have been receiving in the reports given to me. I am greatly troubled by this." Diamond pointed to the console at the computer next to him and asked, "What did you notice?"

Sapphire managed to keep his composure, but it was a close thing. He then walked to the computer and looked at the two sets of data on the screen. Staring at the screen he completely let his emotions slip through. He had not tampered with or fabricated this report. It was sloppily done, and whoever did it lacked his clever planning skills. He was furious. He let Diamond see his fury since he would misinterpret it. He was mad at the perpetrator. Not because of the attempt to mislead Diamond, but because it may expose him. He didn't need Diamond digging into anything this close to the end.

Sapphire collected himself and said, "What I see is that someone is acting against you. They're a fool. Their very discovery points to the fact that you cannot be out maneuvered."

"Yes. You're right. What are you going to do about this?"

"Sire, I will hunt them down and destroy any and all involved; this cannot stand!" Sapphire hoped that Diamond would actually hand over the investigation to him. That would be the only sure-fire way he could stay safe.

"You will not! You will however hunt them down and bring them to me. I look forward to killing them myself. I get such a thrill watching the life leave their eyes. It makes me feel like a god."

"As you command." Sapphire grew sick at another demonstration of Diamond's depravity.

"Go. Find them quickly."

Sapphire bowed and left since he was dismissed.

Sapphire spent a total of one hour investigating who the culprit was. The next four hours were spent concocting a plan to approach and protect Emerald. He was frustrated that she didn't come to him, but he had the grace to acknowledge he hid his subversive actions well. She probably had no idea he was working against Diamond.

He found her resting in her room, and everything was already going to plan. He had the perfect place to have a quiet conversation.

Emerald looked up quickly when her door opened, "Ah, and to what do I owe this visit, dear brother? I would have thought you would've still been ignoring me."

"You misunderstand my actions, Emerald."

"I find that hard to believe." She rolled her eyes.

"I've been busy. I've noticed that you have been busy too. Diamond has come to me about the inconsistencies in one of his reports. The report on the readings of the Silver Crystal."

She paled, and her hand shook. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Sapphire threw his handwritten notes at her. "I know you are the one who tampered with the report."

She looked down and visibly trembled. She closed her eyes and raised her head. Then she stared right at him. "What is my fate? What is Diamond going to do to me?"

"Nothing."

At that, she laughed, "You know he will kill me. Don't patronize me!"

"He will do nothing, because I have a plan."

"So, I am to be blackmailed. I see how it goes."

"You're mistaken. I have a plan to fake your death and hide you away."

"You're Diamond's faithful lap dog. Why would you help me?"

"You're my sister."

"Like that really matters in this family. Surely you were not fooled. He killed our father. He was fourteen and slipped poison in his tea."

"Of course, I know. I even know what kind of poison it was. It was the exact same poison he used to kill your cat when he was ten. He was mad after it scratched him."

Emerald grew still, "I didn't realize…. That… he is a monster." She remembered weeping over her cat when she was five. She had loved that cat much more than she had ever loved her father.

Sapphire handed her a vile and looked her in the eyes. "Drink this, and it will simulate death. I will show Diamond proof of your guilt and then show him what appears to be your corpse."

"I would have to trust you if I were to do this."

"You're the one with poor planning skills, the one who managed to get caught. It took me one hour to figure out it was you! Surely a member of this family can hide their actions better than that." He was annoyed.

"Why should I believe this won't actually kill me?"

"Does it matter if I am lying or not? Either I save your life, or I kill you and spare you from Diamond's cruelty. Isn't anything I offer you better than him?"

She grabbed the vile and asked, "What is it?"

"I call it 'Juliet's Sleep'. It is my own mixture I have in case of emergency." He had brewed it up for himself as a backup plan in case he was caught. He always kept it on him.

"How poetic. Too bad I'm not a lover in this story. Serenity would have been a more poetic vessel for this. Ah well." She raised the vile and said, "To her heath and to her getting a long way away from Diamond." She then drank the whole thing.

Sapphire told her to lay on her bed, put the vile next to her, and then picked up his notes. He gave one last look at the room then slipped off her shoes and put them away. He wanted it to look like she killed herself when she realized she was discovered.

Sapphire appeared before Diamond and bowed low. He had spent an hour of his initial prep time perfecting the next thirty minutes. Sadly, some of it depended on luck, but he only had so much time before Diamond would demand answers. He mentally started the clock. Time to go.

Diamond looked down at him and smiled. "Tell me you have found the culprit."

"I have, Sire." He tried to hand Diamond the file and Diamond ignored it. He then brought his hand back down with the file.

"So, who is it, and why are they not in chains before me?"

"I thought you would like to see the look in her eyes when she is caught. I have heard you say a trapped animal is entertaining."

"And, this is why I put up with you. You know me well."

"Yes, Sire."

"Who is it?! Who do I get to kill?"

Here, Sapphire paused as he was afraid to see the look of glee in Diamond's eyes. It was, after all, their sister. He foolishly still wanted Diamond to care at least a little bit about her. He schooled his features and said, "It's Emerald. She betrayed you and tried to hide Serenity's true power."

Diamond managed to disappoint Sapphire despite how low his option of him already was.

Diamond took a deep breath in then out and seemed relieved. "You have brought me good news. I was going to kill her anyway; this only steps up the timetable. It is handy to have an excuse to execute her. It looks better to others that way. Well done."

"I'm glad to be of service to you as always, Sire." What a bastard, he thought.

"Let's go get her; bring the chains."

Sapphire collected the chains and rejoined Diamond in his attempt to find Emerald. Diamond went to a computer console, searched for Emerald's location, and noticed a silent alarm.

Diamond shouted, "What is this?!"

"It shows Emerald is in her room and," he paused and typed in a search for appearances sake. "It looks like she hid an alarm in the raw data. It looks to have been tripped when you pulled up the two clashing reports."

Diamond grew angry, and he began to dig into the coding. Sapphire knew he was safe from discovery. He couldn't be matched when it came to his skill at coding, and he had carefully crafted the alarm to look to be put there by Emerald weeks ago.

Diamond smashed his hand against the wall. "She has had hours warning that I am on to her!" He then took off running.

Sapphire smiled and set off at a slower pace, letting Diamond discover her dead body. He heard an enraged noise and ran a bit faster.

Diamond stormed out of the room and screamed, "She is already dead! She stole from me the pleasure of killing her!" He then ordered, "Get rid of her body." He then left and shouted, "Someone bring me my lunch!"

Sapphire picked her up gently and knew he had twenty minutes until he could possibly be needed by Diamond. The clock was still ticking, and everything was going according to plan so far.

He walked out of a portal, into the park, and quickly walked to the arcade. He walked in and smiled when he saw Andrew behind the counter. "Please tell me Darien is around here somewhere."

Andrew replied, "No, he's in class." He recognized him from the meeting he and Darien had not long ago, and Andrew then had an idea. "Jadeite just left. I can call him."

"Fine. Please do it quickly." Sapphire placed Emerald in a booth to make it look like she had fallen asleep. "Thank you," he added when Andrew hung up.

"I'm assuming this is something new I have to pretend not to see?"

"Yes. I would appreciate that." Fifteen minutes, he supplied to himself.

Three minutes and thirty seconds later, Jadeite walked in and recognized Sapphire.

Sapphire spoke as Jadeite walked over to him. "Hitch in the plan, and I need help. This is Emerald." He pointed to the girl in the booth and then said, "She is my sister. I cannot vouch for her allegiances. Long story short, she attempted to hide Serenity's true power from Diamond, she got caught, I helped her fake her death, and I need to get her hidden from him. You cannot take her anywhere that would compromise any of you. I don't know her motives. I didn't have time, nor mostly, her trust once I found out. She believes I am loyal to Diamond. I couldn't risk telling her."

"Wow! Your family is messed up." He turned and addressed Andrew, "Can I take her into the break room to lay down?" Andrew nodded. "First, though," and he looked at Sapphire, "are you sure she isn't dead?"

"Yes, I gave her something to fake the appearance of death. Please, hide her. She did make a reference to wanting to keep Serenity away from Diamond. I'm hoping she's on our side."

"I will find somewhere to put her."

"Thank you. I have to go and appear before Diamond soon to hide this from him. I will be back at the bench at six to meet with you or Darien."

"What do I tell her when she wakes up? Won't she freak?"

"Tell her that she is finally safe, and that I will come to her later. Do your best; I'm asking for a lot."

At that, Sapphire turned, ran out of the arcade, and disappeared into a portal. He made it down to the crematorium and made an appearance, telling the workers to get out while wheeling in a cart with a fake body he had prepared on it. He tossed in the fake and wheeled out the empty cart.

A servant was standing down the hall. "Diamond wants a report on any potential damage Emerald may have done."

"On my way." He replied. Perfect timing.

Emerald woke up in a dingy room with peeling wallpaper and scratchy sheets on the bed that she happened to be laying on top of. She sat up and froze, "Hello, Jadeite. What are you doing here?"

"Your brother, Sapphire, asked me to hide you. You're welcome. I figured you wouldn't want to wake up in a motel room without any explanation of how you got there."

"I meant why you? How does my brother know you, and how is it that you are helping him? He is trying to destroy Serenity."

"Why did you falsify that report?"

"I asked you a question first."

"You're not in any position to demand answers."

She sighed, "Fine. I falsified that report on Serenity's energy levels so that she could catch him off guard. I want her to kill him, and I don't want him prepared to defend himself. Her powers are growing, and I tried to make it look like they weren't."

"You risked your life for Serenity?"

"Don't get me wrong. While I do want her safe, I want to keep him from getting what he wants even more."

He grew quiet then picked up his phone and sent a text. Two minutes later, there was a knock on the door. He opened it, and Emerald was shocked. In walked Serenity and Endymion.

Jadeite then told them the gist of their conversation, and Serenity smiled at her.

Emerald spoke, "Serenity and Endymion, what are you doing here?"

Serenity said, "Why do you and Sapphire call us that? I know it was our names, they have changed."

Emerald was truly puzzled, "You know Sapphire?"

Endymion spoke up, "I do. We have spoken twice."

Emerald then decided she better answer her question. "That is how we have always referred to you both. More importantly, it is how Diamond refers to you. He dictates so much of what we do and say."

Serena nodded and said, "Please, call me Serena and him Darien. That is what all our friends call us."

Jadeite smiled and told Emerald, "You can't avoid it now. Serena has taken you in and called you a friend."

Darien then addressed her. "Your brother Sapphire has been conspiring against Diamond. He has orchestrated many events to ensure that Serena isn't kidnapped. He is working with us and brought you to us to hide you away."

Emerald was stunned, "He is working against Diamond?! How? How is that possible? He attempted to kidnap Serenity; I mean Serena."

"He made it look that way."

"Serena injured him badly at the last battle."

Serena grew pale and Darien broke in, "Sapphire asked that she make it look good. She needed to defeat him so he could have a reason to fail kidnapping her. It kept Diamond from growing angry or suspicious. You know that wouldn't end well for Sapphire."

"Yes, that's true. Give me a minute." She sat there in shocked silence, thinking. She didn't know how to wrap her mind around the idea of Sapphire working against Diamond. Then she thought to their conversation before faking her death. He knew about the murder of their father, her cat, and maybe he knew the rest. The part where she suspects that he killed their older sister Ruby to make himself the heir.

She then said, "I really thought Sapphire was working with him. I kept close to Diamond to make him believe I was on his side." She sighed. "Sapphire was always a better planner than I was. To think I could have gone to him."

"He has protected you, and you will have time to talk later," Serena said.

Darien added, "Yes, after I kill Diamond."

Emerald smiled, "Good luck. You'll need it."

Beep. Beep. Beep.

"That is our cue to kick some youma butt!" Jadeite smiled and stood. "You stay put. I'll be back." He then disappeared to the location Amy sent to them. Serena grabbed Darien's hand, and they followed.

Emerald sat and knew now was the time to process all the information she was given.


	23. Check Mate

Blueeyeddevil06 thank you for being my beta.

Chapter 23 – Checkmate

Diamond stood waiting impatiently, knowing that Sapphire was off disposing of their sister's body. He had spent the first half of lunch upset over not getting to kill her. He didn't like the fact that his festering rage wasn't going to have an outlet. Halfway through lunch, he had a fabulous idea that would give him the perfect outlet for his anger and assuage his growing impatience.

It was time for him to enter the battle and kidnap Serenity. He would break her down and make her beg before the night was through. He grew excited thinking of her in tears, begging him to let her go and watching as the hope bled out of her when she realized that she belonged to him. Forever.

Sapphire entered the room bowing, and Diamond noticed he smelled of ash and smoke. Diamond smiled.

He then ordered, "Prepare some youma. It is time for me to go collect my future wife."

"Yes, Sire. I have four ready to go right now if that will be sufficient for you."

Diamond was pleased with Sapphire's ability to predict his every desire. He knew this was why he had no plan to kill him. Smiling, he compared him to a loyal dog who was pleased to serve his master.

Diamond indicated that number would be sufficient, and Sapphire smiled.

With the attack prepared, they collected the youma and stepped through a portal.

Four youma and Sapphire were already in the park by the time the whole team had arrived. Serena looked at Darien and smiled, she knew what this meant. He nodded, and they both turned to engage the enemy.

This time, before the generals could even protect Serena, Mina had ordered the scouts to surround her in a formation that kept her protected and did not interfere with her fighting. Mina then noticed that the generals went to work on weakening the youma.

Serena held her position, keeping an eye out for attacks from the youma and Diamond. She knew Sapphire was a feint and that she needn't be concerned about him. Mina yelled out, and Serena noticed Amy was analyzing a youma's weakness. Amy let them all know the weak spot was right in between the eyes.

Serena readied her tiara and shouted, "Okay, Goliath, let's get this party started." She then sent her tiara and dusted the youma.

She turned when she heard Sapphire yell and noticed his face pale. At that moment, she felt someone grab her arm from behind her. She barely registered the thought that Diamond had, in fact, gone rogue before she snapped into action.

Several things happened in quick succession. Fortunately, Jupiter had been paying close attention and launched a lightning attack that forced Diamond to drop Serena's arm. She didn't miss a beat and concentrated on his energy signature, mentally grabbing hold of it. Diamond then grabbed her arm again and tried to open a portal to pull her through. Serena managed to choke off the energy he attempted to force through her block.

Darien heard Diamond howl in frustration, and he launched a sharp tipped rose at the arm Diamond was using to hold on to Serena. She then jumped back maintaining her block on Diamond's energy. As soon as Darien noticed there was enough space to execute his next move safely, he launched five exploding roses. He figured if it was worth doing, it was worth overdoing.

Sapphire noticed Darien's attack on Diamond and quickly calculated the chance of success before the roses even reached Diamond. He smiled and destroyed the last three weakened youma in quick succession. He had made sure to rig a supply of youma with kill buttons days ago.

He smiled, realizing he was going to make it through this whole thing alive.

Diamond was not a pretty sight when the smoke cleared. Darien realized fully why the term overkill was such a descriptive expression.

Serena reached up, pulled a finger out of her hair, and looked over at Darien. "Yuck! I'm definitely going to need a shower, Tuxedo Mask. Ugh! Please tell me this isn't brains on my skirt."

He looked sheepish, "Sorry. He is dead though."

"That happens when your head is blown off," she replied to Darien.

Sapphire collected the mutilated parts blown off his brother and piled them on his corpse. "I'll be back in five minutes," he let them know before disappearing with Diamond's body. He had a body to cremate and a position to secure quickly.

Serena looked and asked, "Surely no one will mind if I shower quickly? I smell like death."

Mina shook her head and said, "Go for it. We'll wait here."

Serena was glad she could shower and then transform back into Sailor Moon. It would make everything go quickly. She then disappeared and reappeared in her bathroom.

Darien looked around at his generals and the scouts and smiled. "Well, we won."

Kunzite laughed and said, "You really hated Diamond, didn't you!"

Mina interjected, "With all of the suffering he has caused them, I found it satisfying."

Kunzite just smiled at her. There she was, there was the fiercely protective woman he had fallen in love with. He had been seeing her more and more, and Serena had been keeping him updated. "Go out with me Friday night."

She quipped, "Is that a question or an order?"

"It's whatever it needs to be to get you to say yes."

"It was a question then," she smiled at him. "What time?"

"How's six o'clock?"

Nephrite sighed, "Are you really planning a date on the battlefield?"

Mina shook her head and said, "Don't be ridiculous. We're planning a date on our field of victory." And then she held up her Sailor V sign and winked at him.

Kunzite just smiled even bigger.

Sapphire appeared. smiled at everyone, and then asked, "Where is Sailor Moon?"

Darien replied, "Apparently, she wanted to clean up, and she went to shower quickly."

Amy shook her head, "Actually, I think she was using that as an excuse. I don't think she wants to be in front of Sapphire like she was." She then turned and looked directly at Sapphire, "I don't care how much you agreed with the outcome, that had to have been disturbing."

"Fair enough," was his only reply to that statement. "Can someone go collect Emerald? She doesn't need to be in hiding anymore."

Jadeite disappeared, and one minutes later, he was back with Emerald.

Emerald spoke up, "Are you going to tell me what happened? Is it even safe for me to be with you all?"

Everyone let Sapphire speak and he said, "Diamond has been defeated. You're now safe. He's dead."

Right as he was telling her that Diamond was dead, Serena appeared again dressed as Sailor Moon.

Sapphire nodded at her and said, "Let's take this back to my place. If that's alright with you, Serenity."

Serena nodded and said, "Please call me Serena. I'll follow you."

That got everyone else to quickly reply they were coming along too. Sapphire opened a portal and ushered them all in.

"I told everyone to congregate outside. I hope you still have enough energy to rid us of the dark energy. Everyone is understandably impatient."

Serena could tell Darien was about to object, but she cut him off. "I'll be happy to heal you all of the dark energy now. I'm not too tired." She then looked at Darien, "You agreed I get to make decisions like this when it comes to what I'm willing to risk."

Darien was obviously struggling to remain quiet and nodded his head stiffly, stepping back. Kunzite whispered, "Well done." Darien didn't think he fully agreed with Kunzite.

Serena looked to Sapphire and said, "Lead the way. I will let you address everyone first and let them know that I will be healing all of you."

Sapphire said, "Thank you for letting me lead my people in this."

He led them all up a set of winding stairs to the top of a tower, and they all looked down on the people below. Serena didn't wait for him to speak as she began gathering her energy and calling on her Silver Crystal. She felt it hum inside of her and it came out to float in front of her just as Sapphire finished telling the crowd what would be happening.

She closed her eyes, made a wish on her Silver Crystal, and the energy flowed out over everyone affected by the dark energy. She felt them healing, and she felt the protection click in that would prevent them from ever being infected again. She wanted her friends and allies to stay her friends and allies in the future.

She opened her eyes, heard loud cheering and shouts of joy, and then everything went black as she collapsed.


	24. Queen Serenity

Blueeyeddevil06 thank you for being my beta.

I hope it was clear that I completely rewrote the Black Moon Clan's story, and that made them part of Princess Serenity's past.

I hope you like my story.

Thank you for reading.

Chapter 24 – Queen Serenity

Darien was astounded watching Serena heal the whole population of the Black Moon Clan all at one time. She was magnificent, and he didn't even think she noticed she changed into Princess Serenity once she called forward her Silver Crystal. She was stunning and powerful, and his admiration just kept growing. He then heard cheering and realized they were all cleansed of the dark energy and celebrating her.

He looked back at her and smiled at her. The joy he was feeling slid out of him as he realized her eyes were glassy. He then saw her eyes roll back in her head and he lurched forward, catching her before she was able to come close to hitting the ground.

He held her unconscious body in his arms and looked at Sapphire, "Show me where I can take her to lay down. I need Luna, Artemis, and her uncle here now! They need to figure out what the hell happened to her."

Sapphire quickly ordered someone standing off to the side to take her to their best guest suite, grabbed Jadeite, and said, "I will take you to Earth. You then take me to retrieve them, and we'll bring them back together." They disappeared.

Darien followed the woman leading them, and every bit of him radiated fury as he strode as quickly as he could. She struggled to stay ahead of him to lead him to a room for Serena, and she showed them in before quickly retreating.

Kunzite and Mina were the next through the door. Everyone else followed them in. Amy managed to keep her head enough to take Serena's vitals with the Mercury computer.

Amy said, "Darien! Focus! I know this is Serena, but you are training to be a doctor. Look at these readings."

He nodded and walked to her side, looking at the computer and taking a deep breath. "Thank you, Amy, for doing what I should have thought to do."

She replied, "No one blames you for not thinking rationally right now. It is our job to calm you down and have you look at the facts."

Mina spoke up, "And knowing Serena, she would want you to thank that poor woman standing outside the door trembling. I think she is afraid to leave in case we need something."

Darien agreed and looked at Amy, "Keep monitoring her, and let me know if something changes."

"I will, but you won't be gone long. You'll be right outside the door."

He walked into the hall and noticed that Mina wasn't exaggerating like he thought she was. He mentally berated himself and spoke, "I apologize for my behavior. I'm terrified of losing her, and I shouldn't have acted that way around you. Thank you for quickly showing us a room so that I could make her comfortable. She's in stable condition."

She bowed and said, "I'm very relieved to hear she is stable. Everyone will be pleased."

Darien looked surprised.

She then said, "When she wakes up, please tell her thank you. She saved us all." She began crying tears of joy. "I feel I can speak for everyone when I say we would do anything for her."

Darien smiled, "Thank you. I will let her know." He then returned into the room.

He took up Serena's hand. Then there was a spark, and he collapsed next to her.

Instantly, he was standing next to her on the moon and holding her hand. In front of them was a woman bathed in light. He looked next to him at Serena, and she smiled.

Serena spoke, "I'm glad you've joined us. This is my mother, Queen Serenity." She then returned her focus to her mother.

Queen Serenity spoke, "Darien, it's good to meet you in this lifetime."

He said, "It's good to meet you too, Your Highness." And he bowed.

She smiled at him and said, "Serena has unlocked more of her power, and it has triggered our meeting. She's in perfect health, and you'll both wake when we are finished here. I witnessed your worry over her, and as her mother, it was endearing."

Serena looked at him and was beaming, "You're a sweetheart to go and talk to the woman in the hall. I'm proud of you."

He smiled at her and kissed her cheek. "Only you two would praise me for that after I terrified her in the first place."

Queen Serenity smiled, "As I said, I'm her mother. You should be terrifying when you feel she is in danger." She then looked at them. "Serena, you have unlocked quite a lot of power today. It unlocks in stages, so you aren't overwhelmed with the raw power and badly hurt. I'm proud of how you handled all that power to protect and restore those people. Since your scouts' powers are linked to your Silver Crystal, they will find their power has increased also. They must train with them. They never had access to that much power even during the Silver Millennium. Regarding Raye, I'm proud of how you handled that difficult situation. You're right. I sent a sister of hers to be reborn, and she is available to you should you need her." She then held up a sword and handed it to Serena.

Serena spoke, "The sword is dull. I don't think it will do much, mother."

Queen Serenity gave a wry smile and said, "Hand that to Raye. It will help lead her down a path of self-discovery. It's a sword of Mars and an heirloom that should be handed down to her. You will know she has learned her lesson when the blade is sharp. The sword was specially forged on a principle that Sun Tzu said best 'Know thyself, know thy enemy.' It's the perfect vessel for self-discovery."

Darien looked perturbed, and Queen Serenity smiled and asked, "What's wrong?"

He replied, "She disrespects Serena and gets an heirloom from her home planet. Isn't that rewarding her?"

She shook her head, "Do you think her journey will really constitute a reward? It's a difficult path she must travel and, if it's successful in the end, she will have a sword to protect Serena with. If she fails, she has an heirloom as a reminder of her failure."

Darien spoke, "I take it back, it's perfect."

Queen Serenity addressed them again, "Darien, Jadeite was right. You don't have the power of premonition, I do. You have a beautiful future together, and you must hold onto that. She does not leave you like others have. And even then, you don't have the whole story." Here she sighed and looked in his eyes, "I'm sorry, but you're from Earth, and my ability to direct you and your generals' rebirth was not as accurate as the others. I held no dominion over those from Earth, I did have power over those from all the other planets. I couldn't protect your generals, and Beryl had gotten a hold of them. Your rebirth," she closed her eyes and sighed, "You weren't exactly born as much as you were placed in the timeline. Since you are a ruler of Earth, the Earth itself assisted in filling in your existence. Your birth wasn't directed by a sentient being. That, in combination with my lack of dominion over the planet, placed you without my leading. You have no memory of your parents because you were born, for lack of a better word, on your sixth birthday."

Serena looked shocked, "What does that even mean?"

Queen Serenity said, "I had attempted to make you six years younger than you are, and it's all incredibly complicated, but you can't remember your parents because they never really existed. The powers in the Earth fought back and made you older than her. Probably since your last act in life was to protect her. Six years has given you a substantial advantage in that arena."

Darien tried to digest the vague information, "I didn't have parents?"

"You did not."

"And, I have been on this Earth the same amount of years as Serena?"

"Yes, you have."

"But, my parents died in a car accident."

"That is what everyone believes. There wasn't even a cliff near where you were. The rebirth created a backstory for you, for lack of a better way to put it.

He took Serena's hand, kissed it, and looked into her eyes, "I was completely created to protect you, my love." The rest of it he would deal with later. He smiled and said, "We may need to rethink my promise about allowing you to put yourself in danger."

Serena shook her head, "Not a chance, my prince."

"At least I tried."

Queen Serenity then got their attention again, "Live a life full of love. One last thing. Serena, when you marry Darien, you will become Neo-Queen Serenity, and Darien, you will be King Darien. You're still the heir of Earth. There will come a time when the world will come under attack. You both will save the Earth and be crowned King and Queen officially. You have a good friend that is not from the Silver Millennium, Andrew. Trust him, and keep him close. He will come to serve you well in the future. Others will come along over the years. Trust each other to help make the decision on who to bring in."

Serena cried and said, "Mother, will I see you again? I love you."

Queen Serenity replied, "I'm not able to see that right now. The Crystal will call me if I'm needed. I love you too, Serena." She turned to Darien, "Darien, I'm overjoyed you and Serena are together."

He replied, "Thank you for this second chance you gave us."

She kissed Serena on the forehead, and then they both woke up.

Darien noticed he was laying on the bed next to Serena, and she was now holding the sword in her hands. They sat up and noticed how relieved everyone was to see them awake.

Serena spoke first, "I accessed a lot of power from the Silver Crystal and my mother, Queen Serenity, had some things she wanted to tell me. Then Darien showed up, and she spoke to us both. I wasn't harmed by healing everyone." She looked at her uncle, Luna, and Artemis, "Sorry they brought you here for nothing."

Luna spoke, "We would much rather get here and discover you're fine."

Her uncle spoke next, "And, how is my sister-in-law?"

"She's great, and it was amazing to see her. She was glad to have the chance to speak to me in this lifetime."

Sapphire then entered the room, "Serenity, you're awake! I'm relieved, and I will inform everyone. The whole of the Black Moon Clan is worried for you."

"Please call me Serena. I'm sorry I worried everyone; I'm just fine." She was embarrassed she made people worry.

"You saved us all from the darkness. You're a hero. Don't apologize for worrying anyone."

Serena and Darien got up from the bed and indicated she would like to set people's minds at ease by showing them she was awake. Sapphire led them all from the room, and they retraced their steps, coming to the same balcony she blacked out on. When she stepped into view of where the crowd was, she heard a loud cheer go up and smiled. Sapphire announced, "As you can see, Serena is feeling better. She's powerful and used a tremendous amount when she healed us all. She wanted you all to be assured she's feeling better." Loud cheering picked up again when he finished addressing them. Darien was glad to hear the appreciation and to see the smile on Serena's face.

Serena waved, and after five minutes, stepped back so she couldn't be viewed by the crowd. She then told Sapphire, "I think it's time to return home. How long will it take you to get your position secured enough to come and visit us?"

"I would like a full week to remain here and help my people. I would also like to spend time updating Emerald on what happened."

"We'll see you in one week then. Here's my address." Darien then handed him the address to his apartment. It gave Sapphire a way to contact them and kept Serena's location secret. He lied to himself that it had to do with protecting her when it was actually a way to keep him away from her.

Sapphire thanked him then opened a portal. "It leads back to the park. It's strange how easy a portal is to open there."

They stepped through the portal, and once they were all back, they split up to make their way home.


	25. Back To Reality

Blueeyeddevil06 thank you for being my beta.

Chapter 25 – Back to Reality

The next morning, Mina woke up late, rolled over, and sighed. She knew she needed to go talk to Raye, so she slowly got ready and headed over to the temple. For the first time in her life, the temple steps didn't seem long enough. She really wanted to delay making it there.

When she arrived and was about to enter, she heard Raye screaming, "Get out!" and the door flew open. Out stepped Serena who quickly closed the door.

She looked at Mina and whispered, "No need to update her, it is done. Thank you for coming over to do that for me. I should have called and told you I was bringing the Martian sword to her today."

"I would have gone with you if I had known."

"I know. I just didn't want a witness to how this would go."

"You're too kind to her."

"Let's go back to your place since it's closer. I'll give you a summary of how it went."

Once they arrived back at her apartment, they sat in the living room, and Serena sighed. "It isn't going well with her. I will give her this shot, but if it doesn't work, I will know I gave her every chance."

"That bad?"

Serena teared up, "Yes. We used to genuinely be friends, right? I wasn't imagining it, was I?"

"You weren't imagining it."

Serena filled her in on telling Raye about the sword. Mina could tell she left out a lot of mean comments.

An hour later, Mina walked back up the temple steps. She wanted to fill in her gaps in information that Raye had since she threw Serena out so quickly.

Knock. Knock.

Raye opened the door and scowled. "If you are coming to get me to come back, it won't work. Miss Prissy Princess can fight by herself for all I care. I don't care how cool my sword is."

"I came to fill you in on some things; may I come in?"

"Fine, but I am sure I won't want you to stay long."

"I won't. I came to let you know that Diamond is defeated, and there's peace again for now."

"You have to be kidding me. You managed to defeat that guy?" She scoffed.

"The one we saw in battle was his brother, but he worked with us to beat his brother."

"I don't even care how those details were worked out."

"Well, it's good then that one of your sisters was reborn too. Serena has found her, and she is genetically able to take over as Sailor Mars."

Raye's face transformed to one of fury. "You're a bitch; you think you can smile at me and betray me in the same breath?! I AM SAILOR MARS! She stole that from me, and she better give it back!"

"It was never really your power."

"Bullshit, it wasn't my power. I was always better than her, and she was jealous. She stole everything from me, even Darien."

Mina began to laugh, "Serena wants you to come around, and she still cares. I, however, am done with you. Loyalty and friendship to Serena means a lot to me, and you aren't even a mildly decent friend to any of us."

"Oh yea, pretend this is my fault."

"Say what you want. I say the sky is purple. It doesn't make it any truer than what you're saying."

Mina turned and opened the door, "I told you I wouldn't stay long. Oh! And Serena managed to heal an entire nation of people." She then slammed the door.

Raye threw her shoe at the door and then removed the other one, throwing that too. She then stomped over, picked up the sword, held it, and it began to hum. She then set it down and stepped away. She didn't want to deal with whatever Serena did to the sword.

Serena thought she heard a noise at the door. She opened it, looked around, and heard Luna, "May I come in?"

"Please do. Come on into the living room."

Luna followed her. They both sat down, and Luna started, "I understand you have a new advisor in your uncle, but I was wondering if I could live with you again. I miss you."

Serena smiled down at her and said, "I would love that. That means you have to live with five guys though."

"I'm aware. I think I can handle them." She smirked and showed her claws.

Serena laughed and said, "Good thinking. That will keep them in line."

The boys quickly learned the advantage of having a talking cat in the house. She was small and stealthy, and they all bribed her to spy on each other. Zoisite offered her cans of tuna to let him know when someone stole his ice cream. Jadeite quickly countered with cream if she didn't tell on him. All four guys had run out to the grocery store by the end of the day.

Serena called Molly after her conversation with Mina. "Emergency sleepover at my place tonight."

"On a weeknight?"

"It's in celebration that we defeated Diamond, and I won't be kidnapped or tortured. You must come to that. It's the law."

Molly laughed, "Well, you know I would hate to get arrested, and the cause is good. I will be there. What time?"

"Now if you can make it, but everyone seems to have actual things to do. Come as soon as you are available. There will be cake."

"You have cake?"

"It's a party!" Then Serena got really serious. "I didn't let on how scared I was. He managed to kidnap me in the past, and I had guards then too. I was a mess, but I hid it."

"You should have said something."

"What would it have helped? Everyone was already guarding me really well."

"I, of all people, can understand the need to be protected. I'm a youma magnet, remember? Sharing your fear would have helped. You're always there for others, let people return the favor."

"Everyone says I'm strong, happy, kind, sweet, and loving. Those don't go with sharing your burdens."

"Well, I thought you knew me better than that. Remember in the sixth grade when you cried over the fact that Mark didn't notice you? There were other times too that I was there when you cried. I have always been there, and it never bothered me. Did you at least tell Darien?"

"No, I didn't tell him."

"Why?"

"What was he going to do?"

Molly dropped it, "I will be at the victory party."

"Thanks, bye!"

"Bye."

Ring. Ring. Ring.

"Hello, Molly."

"Hello, Darien. We need to talk."

Darien sighed when he got off the phone. Right now, he wished Molly were one of Serena's scouts. He was glad she had her as a friend though.

Darien knocked on Serena's door, and Nephrite answered. "She's in the kitchen putting the cake away."

Darien smiled at him, "Thank you." He walked into the kitchen and said to Serena, "We need to talk."

"Well, that doesn't sound good."

"Molly called me. She told me about your fear and you hiding it from me. Don't be mad at her. You know she did the right thing telling me. It should have been you."

Serena grew still, "Part of me is still afraid of being a burden to you. For a year, I thought that was why you broke up with me. How am I supposed to get over it that quickly?"

Darien rubbed his face with his hands, "You were never a burden. Why did you think that?"

"You gave me no real reason as to why you stopped loving me. We were born to be together, what else was I to think?!"

"That I was an idiot?"

"No! That wasn't what I thought! I thought I was a burden, stupid, childish, and not good enough for you. That's what I believed. That's what the breakup told me."

"You are none of those things. You're amazing."

"Guys don't break up with women because they're amazing."

"I broke up with you over that false dream."

"I didn't know that! You didn't tell me!"

Kunzite stepped into the kitchen. "Serena, please leave and let me talk to Darien for a little. Darien will come to you when we're done."

"Fine." Serena marched out the door and up the stairs.

Kunzite turned to Darien, "Sometimes I wish that I had the satisfaction of punching you in the face. Keep this up, and I will fix that."

"What in the world did I say that was wrong? I never thought those things about her."

"Your breakup destroyed her confidence, and she built herself back up afterwards. She's strong, and it was amazing to watch. But if you thought her confidence in your relationship was restored, you have another thing coming. She's happy, and things are going well for both of you. But to her, that is all built on a foundation of sand. You said you regretted what you did, but you never told her who she was to you when you broke up."

"What?"

"Tell her who you broke up with. Tell her how you felt about who she was then and what you gave up protecting her. Make her see she didn't "fix" herself over the last year. She's afraid of reverting to the girl you could give up."

"Shit. I missed that. I was so busy being in love and having her back that I forgot to address the fallout of the breakup."

"I heard her go up into her room. I'll give you some time to think before you head up." Kunzite left the room and went to the living room. A few minutes later, he heard Darien go up the stairs.

Knock. Knock.

Serena opened her door and said, "Come in."

Darien entered and grasped both her hands. "Kunzite explained to me what I wasn't understanding." He kissed both her hands. "You accepted me back, and that was everything to me. I had everything I wanted back in my arms. I didn't tell you what it was that I wanted though."

He kissed her lips then looked her in the eyes and said, "The day I broke up with you, it was like ripping out my own heart. I was wrong, but I truly believed I was saving your life, and I couldn't live if you weren't in this world. I gave up everything that meant anything to me that day. I let the perfect woman walk out my door, and it hurt. I let the kindest, sweetest, most loving, thoughtful, funniest, strongest, and brightest light walk out the door when you only brought joy to my life. Your strength astounds me, and while everyone has times when they need someone, when you do, I feel like a king. To be able to comfort you or be there to help strengthen you, makes me feel needed. You're so self-sufficient that I don't always feel that way. I'm not complaining, just please let me be there for you when you need someone. I see the confidence you have gotten over the year you were gone. To me though, you should have always been this confident. You have always been this amazing."

"Oh, Darien." Serena was crying by then. What he said had brought comfort to her heart and soothed a raw and aching pain that had been there since the moment he ended things. She wiped her eyes. "You really saw me like that, even back then?"

"Serena, you brought color to my life the moment you threw that test paper in my face. I had felt like that for a long time."

She kissed him, and he responded with all the feeling he could to show her his love and devotion. He backed her up, pressed her against the door, and she moaned into his mouth. He ghosted his hands over her body, and she shivered. He smiled into the kiss.

"I need to get to class. I love you, Serena." He gave her one last lingering kiss, and she walked him to the door.

Later, Serena was resting on the couch when she heard a knock on the door.

Serena opened the door, and Molly walked in.

Molly spoke, "Before you say anything, calling him and telling him was the right thing to do."

"Yes, it was, and thank you." Serena hugged Molly.

"Oh! I'm glad you see it."

"You can report anything you want to Darien if it ends with a kiss like that."

"Details!"

"I will just say I was pressed up against the door with his body pressed into mine, and the kiss was amazing."

"And, his hands were where?"

"Nope, not saying." And she winked.

Girl's Night with Amy, Mina, Lita, and Molly was a blast for Serena. She didn't miss Raye one bit. Molly was filled in on everything that happened including Serena's talk with her mother. And the girls were filled in on the fact that Molly had a date with Jadeite on Friday.

Mina also let Serena know she went back to talk to Raye and what a disaster that was.

Mina asked, "So, if you replace her as Sailor Mars, wouldn't the next girl be just as hard to handle."

Serena replied, "No, why?"

"Well, the Martian temper of course."

"There isn't a Martian temper. That is just Raye's own temper."

"Wait, that isn't Martian?"

"Nope. Yes, war is part of the Martian mentality, but mother explained some things before Darien arrived. One was that it manifests in a couple different ways. One can be the desire to fight, one can be bent towards destruction, and another is that a person can be good at assessing people and situations to beat them. For example, some Martians are observant and can form a strategy to come up with the best course of action quickly and accurately. It's good for battle strategies."

"So, the next Sailor Mars might not have a temper?"

"Correct. I can guarantee she wouldn't actually. I know who I could replace her with."

All the girls looked shocked at that news.

Lita spoke up, "Are there replacements for us?"

"Nope." Serena Shook her head.

"Why?"

"Mom didn't foresee the need for me to need one."

They all let that sink in.

Serena spoke again, "I struggle because I want this other girl to be Sailor Mars, but I feel I owe Raye a chance out of respect for the friendship we use to share."

Mina scoffed, "You owe her nothing at this point."

The rest of the evening was much more lighthearted, and they enjoyed cake and each other's company.

The next evening, Darien was ready to punch Stephen in the nose if he snickered one more time at the situation. The study group that was currently meeting at his apartment had quickly evolved into an exercise in patience. How Tiffany had gotten herself into the group was a mystery to him. He had quickly claimed the armchair after she managed to wedge herself next to him on the couch. Now, every time she tried to flirt with him, Stephen barely suppressed a laugh. And, there it went again.

They all had started at the library, but Tiffany kept complaining that it was too noisy there, and they really needed to go somewhere else. She whined long enough that all five of the guys gave up and agreed to move. She quickly made sure that they relocated to Darien's apartment. He realized now he shouldn't have given in.

She spoke and Darien suppressed a shudder.

Darien looked at Tiffany and tried to be kind, "No, I don't need your help adding a female touch to the apartment."

She tried again, "Well, anytime you need someone to cook for you, let me know. I'm sure it's hard cooking for one."

"That isn't a problem."

She opened her mouth to make another comment, and there was the sound of a key in the door.

Serena walked in and paused, smiled, and announced, "I thought you were at the library for your study group. I wanted to drop off a couple of things." She pulled out a Tupperware container and placed it on the coffee table. "Now you have to share the cookies Lita made."

Luna peaked her head out of the bag Serena was carrying and surveyed her surroundings.

Serena then said, "Oh! Where are my manners? I'm Serena. I know Dave, Stephen and Rick "

Tiffany spoke up and said "I'm Tiffany. Why are you here, and since when did they allow cats in the building?"

The guy next to her broke in before Serena could answer, "I'm Tom, and please tell me you are Darien's sister and you will go out with me Friday night."

Serena blushed and Darien was irritated. He said, "She's my girlfriend. She has plans with me Friday."

Serena walked over and kissed Darien on the cheek, "You know I only want you, my love." He visibly calmed down.

"I don't enjoy that you have yet another guy after you."

"I only let you catch me."

He smiled and said, "I know that. I just adore you and don't want to lose you."

"You won't, and you trust me. We both know that."

"I do." He laced his fingers with hers. "You said you brought a couple of things. Tell Lita thanks for the cookies please."

"I will." Luna jumped out of Serena's bag and up on the coffee table. She observed Tiffany and flicked her tail. "I also brought some information that Sapphire gave me for you. He was over earlier talking to Jadeite, and I said I planned on dropping by so I would bring it."

Darien grumbled, "Speaking of someone else who is in love with you."

Serena raised one eyebrow at him, and he looked sheepish.

He said, "Yes, I trust you. I just don't have to enjoy it."

"Fair enough." She gave him another kiss on the cheek. "I will just put this folder away for you later."

She left the room to hide the folder away from prying eyes.

Tom shook his head, "You never said you were dating a model! She's the hottest girl I've ever seen."

Tiffany made a scoffing noise at that, and Luna twitched her tail again.

Darien's reply was, "She's gorgeous. Flirt with her again, and I will punch you in the nose."

Serena walked back in the room.

Darien's cell phone rang, and he answered, "Hello, Jadeite." …. "She's here"…. "Yes, she brought cookies and the information from Sapphire." …. "she's standing right here rolling her eyes."

"Tell him I know I turned the tracker off, it was creepy."

"She says you're creepy." He said to Jadeite.

Serena scoffed and spoke loudly for Jadeite to hear, "I said IT was creepy."

Darien looked at her. "He wants to know why you took Luna."

"Tell him they were making her fat."

Luna let out an angry noise at that comment.

Darien told Jadeite and then told him goodbye.

"I wish he wouldn't worry about me so much." She said. "I'm able to take care of myself."

"Your brother?" David asked.

"No, a mutual friend." Darien replied and then said. "We were about to take a break and order dinner. Could you stay, Serena, and eat with us?"

She smiled and said, "I would love to. Luna needs a break from the guys too."

Luna got up, arched her back, jumped down from the table, and left to go nap on Darien's bed. Serena laughed at her, "They have taken to bribing her. They each want to be her favorite, and she gets cream and tuna all the time." She shook her head. "She gets upset when I take her away."

Tiffany said, "Cats aren't even supposed to be in this building. How did you get it past the doorman?"

Darien said, "Actually, they're allowed here, and she hardly has to sneak Luna in."

Serena smirked at her, "Steve adores Luna."

Tiffany was confused and opened her mouth to speak.

Darien cut in and spoke to Serena, "You brought him cookies too, didn't you? You're his favorite around here, and you aren't even a tenant."

"Of course, I brought him some, and the recipe. His mother is visiting soon, and I thought his wife would like it."

Darien smiled and said, "You're always thinking of others."

Tiffany spoke, "Darien, I have a question on what we just went over. Can't we pick up studying and eat later?" She pulled out her book again and opened it.

Tom started laughing and said, "Oh, give it up! He isn't into you. This is middle school level flirting."

She huffed and looked angry. "I don't know what you're talking about. I just thought a study group was about studying."

"You've been flirting with Darien the whole time, and it was hilarious. Seriously, the only time I have had more fun in a study group was freshman year when I made out in the stacks with a sophomore from the group."

Serena laughed and went into the kitchen to grab Darien's take out menus and brought them back to everyone.

Tiffany sat silently glaring at her. She didn't like how obvious it was that Serena knew her way around the apartment and had a key.

Serena looked up at Tom and asked. "Are you by any way related to Mark Hemmer? You somehow remind me of him."

Tom replied, "He's my brother why?"

"We went to school together, and we had class together our last year. I just caught up with him recently."

"Wait! You're that Serena. He was upset when you wouldn't go out on a second date with him."

"Well, as you can see, I was no longer single when he asked."

Darien grew clammy and hated this conversation. Jadeite had told him about that date, and now jealousy gnawed at him again. He hated what he had done to bring this pain on himself. He had hurt them both all over something that wasn't even true. It still left him feeling guilty too.

Tiffany tried to use the situation to her advantage. "You cheated on Darien. How awful."

Darien had enough, "This is my apartment, and I 'm done with you. Tiffany, get out! If anyone wants to leave and go study with her, then you won't offend me." He pointed at the door, "Oh, and Tiffany. Don't ever talk to me again."

She jumped up, gathered her things, and yelled, "Fine, we're leaving!" She then stomped out the door. No one followed and she didn't return. Darien briefly wondered what her reaction was when she realized she was all alone.

Darien then handed around the various menus. They all agreed where to order from, and he called in the order. They had a great dinner and a wonderful time afterwards joking and relaxing.

After the others left, Luna came trotting out of the bedroom, "Well, isn't that girl just horrible. I'm glad you kicked her butt out. As if she could ever compare to Serena." She huffed.

Darien chuckled and said, "I completely agree. I have a can of tuna fish if you want it."

"That would be delicious."

"Luna, you have all of the boys wrapped around your paw." Serena commented.

Luna said, "I'm resourceful, and they recognize it is in their best interest to bribe me."

"You mean they have you spying for them. Wait, what is Darien bribing you for?"

"Any boys that talk to you while you are out with me. By the way Darien, three flirted with her, but she brushed them all off."

She yelled, "Darien, I thought you trusted me!"

He said, "I do. I just don't think you notice how often guys are interested in you, and I worry that they will get persistent even without encouragement. Or, they will even get persistent when you do brush them off. Diamond really scared me. Knowing what happened in our last lifetime and knowing that you suffered, it kills me."

She kissed him, "That is the sweetest bullshit I've ever heard."

"It's the truth."

"Moving on. I left the file in the drawer in your nightstand. I better head out."

"Let me drive you home. It's late, and then I get to spend extra time with you."

"Okay, my sweet caveman."

"Hey! I'm… okay, I kind of am. Sorry."

"It's cute as long as you stop having Luna spy on me. That's too far."

"To be fair, it was her idea."

Luna spoke, "You agreed to it. I only brought it up because I wanted more tuna, and she kept taking me away from the guys so they would stop feeding me."

Serena rolled her eyes, "Great. I'm getting spied on because my cat loves to eat."

Darien drove her home, walked her to the door, and kissed her after Luna went inside.

"I do trust you. I just struggle with jealousy. I will really try to get better."

She kissed him again and said, "Make sure you do that. Were you interested in going out with Tiffany?"

"Hell no! I was annoyed with her and was relieved to throw her out."

"Then you understand how I feel when people flirt with me."

"Now I feel like a jerk."

"Lucky for me, you're a hot jerk." She smiled at him and gave him one last kiss. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, my love."

That night after Darien arrived home, he called Jadeite and Andrew and asked them to meet him at the arcade the next day at nine o'clock. He had an appointment to get to and a ring to buy.


	26. Date Night

Blueeyeddevil06 thank you for being my beta.

Chapter 26 – Date Night

Jadeite arrived at Molly's house with flowers and sweaty palms. He knocked on the door and waited for her to answer. The door opened and an older man answered. Jadeite said, "I was looking for Molly. I guess I got the wrong house."

"No, this is her house. I'm her father. Come on in, and sit down. I have a few questions."

"Of course." Jadeite was sweating now. He was not expecting her father at all, and now he was going to be questioned by him. And all of a sudden, he understood why Kunzite had her meet him at their house. He mentally groaned and wondered why he didn't think of that.

"You're quite a bit older than Molly. How did the two of you meet?" Her father asked.

"I'm friends with Serena. We became close friends the year she spent away from the city. We met through her."

"Molly's mother and I think the world of Serena. The two of them have been friends for so long, my wife and I have known her since she was five. I know she is living with her uncle and four guys; she isn't dating one of them though."

Jadeite hoped her father would see this as a good thing. "You're correct. She's dating Darien. He's my age also. I'm one of the four guys living with her uncle. He has sort of taken us under his wing. We were all orphaned at a young age, and it's nice to have someone older around to give us advice and keep an eye on us. I know it may sound strange, like we are too old for that, but we never had that before and it's been nice."

"I remember hearing about Darien. Didn't he break her heart?"

"Yes, but they worked things out. Well, he realized he was an idiot and managed to get her back. I got to punch him first though." Jadeite smiled, and then it quickly fell away. "I shouldn't have said that. Sorry."

"Ha! No need to apologize. She's a sweet girl, and I'm glad someone did punch him."

"Well, his best friend Andrew punched him too."

"Really? That must have been a shock to him to not have the support of his friend."

"Not enough to make him stop being an idiot. I managed to talk some sense into him, after I punched him of course."

"You did? Hmm. I'm glad to hear that. Question: How far should a guy go on a first date?"

"What?!" Jadeite was startled by the abruptness of the question and the content.

"Answer me."

"Well, I would say he should be respectful of her as a person, and most importantly, he should go only as far as she is completely comfortable with."

"Pretty good answer. 90% on that test question, to get a 100% you have to say, 'as far as the father is comfortable with his little girl going.'" He then laughed and clapped Jadeite on the back, "Molly! Your date is here!"

Jadeite stood waiting for Molly, and she came down the stairs. "You look lovely tonight and nice lipstick. Are you ready?" He handed her the flowers, and she put them in the kitchen for the time being.

She returned and said, "Bye, Dad."

They left and Jadeite took a deep breath the moment they walked out the door.

Molly giggled and said, "He liked you. You do realize that, right?"

"How did you possibly get that idea?"

"It's the truth. He wanted to punch Darien himself, and you said you would respect my choices."

"You were spying."

"And I don't feel bad, even a little bit." She gave him a huge smile.

Jadeite opened the car door for her, she got in, and they headed off on their date.

Thirty minutes later, they were eating and laughing together. He moved on to asking her about herself, and he found her to be so perceptive. They also knew they had to be careful how they talked about some things in public.

"So, you figured out about Serena, and you just said nothing for that long?"

"She obviously didn't want me to know, and I didn't want to add to her stress. I lacked the confidence then to believe I could be as helpful as the four girls. I felt less than, I guess. Then one day, I realized that she was still Serena, and we began talking more. I just didn't know how to bring up what I knew, so I left it."

"You aren't normal."

She laughed, "Gee, thanks."

"That sounded bad, didn't it? What I meant is that you're special." He paused. "Now, I sound lame. You're an incredibly supportive friend. You have no idea how much better she sounded after talking to you on the phone. You just always seemed to know the right things to say. That's a gift."

"I have known her since we were five. It isn't that hard."

"All girls are incredibly difficult to figure out. I think you're a magician."

She rolled her eyes and laughed, "We're supposed to be difficult." She looked him in the eye and said, "We want a boy who will take the time to figure us out. It makes us feel special."

"You act like that's easy."

"It isn't easy at all. Guys just have to figure out who is worth all of the difficulty."

"Is asking Serena for help cheating?" He asked and smiled.

"What the fuck?! You're out on a date with her, and you think I am not good enough? You bastard!" Raye yelled.

"Hello, Raye. Leave." Jadeite was furious that she was going to make a scene.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"We were having a nice time, then you showed up."

"It's sad that you have to pretend you're having a good time with Serena's friend. Did she have to pay you to take her out? Melvin got so bored of her, he apparently just stopped calling her."

"You Harpy, you need to leave before I say something you'll regret."

"Like you'll regret your date?"

Here, Molly broke into the argument, "Oh, thank goodness! I was still worried that you would change your mind about Raye. Now I see what you were saying about her. Wow, you were so right about that, I see it now too. Gosh, that would be awful to have to deal with." She then just shook her head in obvious pity.

Raye stormed off and left the restaurant leaving a shocked group of people staring at them.

Jadeite shrugged and said, "She's an ex-girlfriend for a reason," to the room at large and everyone went back to their conversations.

He then looked at Molly, "I feel bad that I wasn't following what you were talking about."

"You weren't supposed to. You handled it just like I hoped you would. The point was to get her wondering what you said to me and get her to leave. It worked." She winked at him.

"See, you're brilliant and amazing. I'm glad she left. Were you really worried about me and Raye?"

"Honestly, a bit. I believed what you said, but she shares a whole other life with you."

"Not a whole life. None of us died of old age. But, I get what you're trying to say. I was reborn for Serena and Darien. Not her."

"I know, and things like what happened just now further help me see that."

"You were right with what you said on our first date."

"That I could handle her?"

"Yup!" He shook his head. "I was so nervous Serena would have an issue with us dating, and she had the gall to act like it was her idea."

"Don't get worked up over anything she said. I'm not. She was just trying to spread her pain and I'm not fooled."

"That comment about Melvin, do I risk asking if that bothered you? I don't know everything about what happened."

"It's fine. Yes, he just stopped calling, but from what I can tell, he isn't calling anyone else either. I think he's married to his college studies."

"I'm a jerk enough to admit I'm glad he stopped calling. It got us here. I'm just sorry you were hurt by it."

"I'm glad I'm here too."

He reached over and brushed her cheek with the back of his hand. "I'm very happy to hear that."

The night ended, and after walking her to the door, he gave her a kiss and wished her sweet dreams.

They were.

"You're kidding me!" Zoisite said.

Amy replied, "Nope, not one bit," and she laughed.

"That is hilarious."

"Yup. It was almost as funny as you falling out of that chair."

"Hey, I was half asleep."

"You were supposed to be working!"

"Only you can be brilliant that early in the morning."

Amy blushed.

Zoisite brushed his fingers over her hand that was resting on the table and said, "You are so beautiful."

"What do you like to eat here?"

"No, don't change the subject. You're beautiful, Amy."

"I… thank you."

"Oh, sweet Amy, you'll see it one day. I promise you that. I just need to convince you."

"I just never cared about my looks. I work really hard to improve my mind, and I care more about that."

"Being beautiful doesn't make you less intelligent. I know you don't focus on your beauty, but that doesn't erase it."

"I guess."

"I will let you change the subject now. And my answer is I don't know. I haven't ever eaten here before. I thought we could try it together."

They continued to talk and then ordered their food.

"I have a question for you. Why did you all stay with Serena? I think it was the right choice. I was just wondering."

"Well, we were all still loyal to Endymion, and we couldn't serve any form of him that wasn't in love with Serenity in every form. Lo and behold, he did love her; we just didn't know that. She quickly became like a treasured little sister to all of us, and we stay now because we want to."

"Wow. To hold to their love that tightly is moving. You all must be secret romantics."

"I hope not to be a secret romantic around you."

Amy blushed again. "You're doing well so far."

"Well, does this help?" He pulled out a jewelry box and handed it to her.

"Is this really a first date thing?"

"Just open it. I want you to have it, and you know this isn't going to end at just one date."

"Oh, and how is this going to end?"

"If the past is anything to go by, this won't end, even in death."

She smiled and opened the box, "It's beautiful! I love the bracelet, and I love the zoisite. It's stunning." She leaned forward and gave him a peck on the lips. "It's my favorite stone."

He leaned back and smiled, "And don't you forget it."

By the time Zoisite said goodnight, he knew he was in love with Amy.

Kunzite smiled at Mina, and she looked him in the eyes and said, "What're you smiling about?"

"I'm on a date with a fierce, strong, and beautiful woman. Don't I have reason to smile?"

"You should be ecstatic. You're just lucky I agreed to this date after you told me I was going to go out with you Friday."

"Hey! I thought we agreed that I asked you."

"I guess we did. Tell me more about Luna. Did she really cough up a furball on your bed because Jadeite bribed her to?"

"Is this really a question for a dinner date?" He then sighed, "Yes."

Mina laughed, "Think you could bribe her to leave a dead mouse under his pillow?"

"You're amazing, you know that?" He chuckled at the idea and filed it away for use later.

"Actually, I do." She winked at him and flashed her Sailor V signal at him discreetly. "When dinner is over, do you want to go back to my house and make out on the couch?"

Kunzite almost spit out the sip of water he had just taken, "Next time, wait until I'm not drinking anything. And absolutely!"

They both smiled.

Darien chuckled, "Stop wondering how the other dates are going."

"Am I that obvious?" Serena asked sheepishly.

"No, I knew before the date even started you would be thinking of them."

"Sorry, I'll stop."

"I'm not upset at all. I just don't want you to worry. I talked to Jadeite, Zoisite, and Kunzite. They are all almost in love with them already."

"Thank you for checking for me."

"I would ask how you know that, but I feel it's because you know me so well."

"That, I do. You are so good to me."

"I would argue that I'm not good enough."

"You're sweet." She paused, "Is it okay if I ask you how you feel about what you were told regarding your birth?"

"I really am struggling to know how I feel. For so long, I never remembered my parents and it bothered me. I desperately wanted to get those memories back. I hated that I forgot their love and care for me, and it felt like a betrayal of them. Now, I find out they never existed, and there aren't any memories to get back."

Serena paused and looked thoughtful, "I'm sorry there are no memories to get back. I wanted that for you very badly."

"I know, my love. It's just strange to know I didn't have the love of parents, ever."

"You do realize the whole plant Earth seems to care for you, right? It isn't the same at all I know, but no one else has ever had that. It made sure you were born in a way to protect me because your last act in life was to sacrifice yourself for my protection. The Earth tried to honor that."

"When you put it that way, it's crazy to think about."

"The lack of a parent's love doesn't make you any less special. If you really feel it does, tell that to Lita, Mina, Raye, and Amy. They all have at least one parent that doesn't love them. That doesn't diminish them, and it doesn't diminish you."

"I needed to hear that. Thanks. I have your love, and I have to be honest, the love of two lifetimes, one that spans over a thousand years, already is magnificent and even more rare than the love of a parent."

"What we have is very special. My mother told me something before you arrived, and I want you to know it too." She hesitated, "When we officially become the Queen and King like she mentioned, our life spans expand. We will live and love each other for thousands of years."

He smiled, "We promised each other forever. I'm just glad we will be able to keep that promise. I adore you, my love, and you just made me so very happy."

"I'm glad you feel that way. One lifetime with you would never be enough for me."

Before Darien fell asleep that night, he thought of how he couldn't wait to propose to Serena. He couldn't wait to start forever with her.


	27. The Ring

blueeyeddevil06 thank you for being my beta and fixing this.

Chapter 27 - The Ring

Jadeite walked into the arcade at nine and was instantly surprised to see that Andrew wasn't working. He secretly thought he slept there. Okay, he didn't actually think that, but it was funny to contemplate. Especially now since Andrew wasn't working, but he was still there sitting at a table with Darien.

Jadeite walked over to them and said, "Well, the party has arrived. What did you want that you needed to be so secretive about? I'm naturally assuming Andrew will be in on this too."

Darien looked up and smiled at him. After looking around to make sure no one could overhear them, he said, "I wanted help from both of you. I'm going to buy Serena an engagement ring, and I wanted input from both of you."

Andrew and Jadeite both stared at him and had large smiles on their faces.

Andrew spoke first, "I would love to help you spend lots of money. You know we are both going to make sure you get her a really expensive ring, right?"

Jadeite laughed, "No kidding. She has more than earned it for putting up with your crap and then forgiving you."

Darien nodded, "I figured that would be the case. I happen to agree that she should have an expensive ring. That, and I'm a bit of a jerk. I want any guy that sees her ring to know that he doesn't stand a chance."

Jadeite added, "You're marking your territory."

Andrew quipped, "Well, it is better than peeing on her."

Darien rolled his eyes, "On that note, let's leave so we can ignore that statement."

As they walked out of the arcade, Jadeite added, "The necklace we bought her really bothers you, doesn't it?" Darien just shrugged. "Good!" Jadeite said.

Andrew looked over and asked, "What about her necklace? I noticed she wears it all the time."

Jadeite smiled at Darien and spoke to Andrew, "The stones are jadeite, zoisite, nephrite, and kunzite. We all bought it for her."

"Wow, that must be killing you that she is wearing jewelry from four other guys," Andrew remarked laughing at Darien.

Darien looked irritated. "Shut up," he grumbled. "Just get in the car so you can help me spend my money."

The car was quiet on the way to the jewelry store. They pulled up in front of Tiffany's, and Jadeite whistled. "Wow, you really are going to be spending a lot of money on this ring."

They walked in, and Darien alerted the guy behind the counter to the fact that he had an appointment.

"Are you at least going for a carat?" Andrew asked.

Darien shook his head. "Aren't you going to ask Rita to marry you? Don't you know how this works? Tiffany's doesn't sell diamonds under a carat, and their clarity ratings are only among the best. You can't get out of here without spending a lot. I figured you would both approve."

The salesman came out and brought some of the stones that fell into the parameters Darien had laid out on the phone. They all looked at the stones through a jeweler's loop, and Darien chose a beautiful three carat diamond in a princess cut. He thought that would be perfect for her. The diamond only had one small wisp of an inclusion.

Andrew was afraid to speak up and show his lack of knowledge on diamonds, but Jadeite was not. He said, "Don't you think she deserves a flawless diamond? What is with the wispy inclusion?!"

Darien replied, "First, you want a way to identify your diamond when you take it into the jeweler. That way, you know they didn't switch out your stone for a lesser one. Second, and most important, if a diamond doesn't have a single inclusion, it doesn't sparkle as much. The inclusion helps reflect the light, and the diamond actually looks prettier."

Andrew looked at Jadeite and just said, "Duh!" Jadeite slugged him in the arm. No way was he buying that Andrew knew that.

Jadeite then whispered, "Nerd," under his breath to Darien.

Next came out the settings for the diamond, and they looked through those. Darien, of course, chose Rose Gold and six prongs. He then picked an inscription for the wedding band. It would read, "Forever."

Darien gave the salesman her ring size as well as the down payment and received an appointment to pick up the finished rings.

They left, and Darien treated them to lunch as a thank you for their help and support.

Darien sighed, "Now I have to talk to her father and her uncle. That won't be stressful."

Jadeite chuckled and didn't envy him facing two men to ask for her hand. He said, "Are you going to divide and conquer, or are you going to talk to them both at once?"

"I haven't decided yet. I do know I'm going to wait until the ring is ready and bring it with me. I'm hoping a large rock will help pave the way towards their approval."

They all laughed at that.

Jadeite spoke up, "Is it strange for you defeating Diamond and then buying a diamond for her?"

Darien sighed, "Well, it is now! I'm sure I will get over it though. He will be a distant memory soon. Gosh, I'm glad he's dead at my hands."

Andrew looked around panicked, "Say that a little louder next time! Maybe you can spend some time being questioned by the cops today. That would be quite the memory. You buy a ring and then you get a set of matching bracelets for free."

Jadeite laughed until he came to a realization, and then he paled. "I just realized I would be the one to have to tell Serena you were arrested. It has officially stopped being funny for me."

Andrew shook his head and changed the subject, "Do you know how you're going to propose?"

"Yes, I do. Remember that house she fell in love with just down the street from her uncle's?" They nodded. "I bought it for her, and right now, a gardener is putting in a huge rose garden in the back. It has a gazebo with climbing roses all over it. I'm going to take her out to dinner and then bring her to the house. We'll go straight back to the gazebo and I will propose then and there. Once she hopefully says yes, I will tell her the house is ours and show her around."

Jadeite clapped Darien on the back and smiled. "Well, that is just perfect for her. All she wants is proof of your future together. An engagement and a house will do just that. She will be thrilled and touched with how personal it all is. I'm so glad I only punched you that day. Killing you, like I wanted to, would have made her miss out on all of this."

Darien grimaced, "The scary part is I don't know if you're kidding about wanting to kill me."

"I'm not." He deadpanned.

"Oh…."

"Hey, I'm glad I didn't!" Jadeite said to defend himself.

Andrew just laughed at them both and shook his head. He really enjoyed hanging out with Darien and Jadeite. The three of them were becoming great friends. And now, his best friend was going to become a happily married man.


	28. Moments In A Week

blueeyeddevil06 thank you for being my beta and fixing this.

I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. I hope you enjoy it.

Chapter 28 – Moments in a Week

Darien arrived early for class, sat down in his seat, and pulled out his book. Rick came in a couple of minutes later and sat next to him on his right.

Rick smiled and said, "Study group was entertaining. All the girls in class had been impressed with Tiffany's boldness inserting herself in our study group. I wonder what she will tell them now."

Darien huffed, "Is that why you let her join?"

"Yup! I don't even feel bad a little bit. It is a win-win. We got entertainment, and you get to make a point. You just need to be cold to her from now on, and all the other girls in class will back off. You're welcome."

Class began filling up, and they grew quiet. Rick was curious as to how Tiffany would play off what happened at the study group.

She walked in, smiled, and sat right next to Darien on his left.

Rick smiled and settled back in his chair.

Darien turned and spoke loudly enough for others to hear, "Don't you give up? I explained I don't want anything to do with you." He gathered up his things and got ready to move seats. He then looked at Rick, "Serena was glad to see you all again."

Rick replied, "It's hardly fair you have the hottest girl I've ever seen. You have all the luck."

Darien smiled at him and switched seats with him. "Thanks," he whispered.

OooooooO

Luna followed Nephrite into the kitchen. She was curious as to what he was doing midafternoon, and she watched him open the freezer, taking out ice cream that had Zoisite's name in black sharpie all over it.

He turned and jumped when he saw Luna there staring at him. "Hello, Luna." He set down the ice cream on the counter and opened the fridge. He pulled out a quart of cream, retrieved a bowl and placed it on the table. He then proceeded to pour her some cream into the bowl.

Luna jumped up on the table and said, "I didn't see anything."

Nephrite paused and then poured in some more cream, "What you saw was Jadeite taking the ice cream."

Luna chuckled and replied, "That's exactly what I saw."

Nephrite finished off all Zoisite's ice cream and then washed the bowl after Luna finished.

OooooooO

Molly ran into Mina at lunch time at the arcade. Mina immediately asked Molly to join her. After placing their orders, they settled in to talk.

Molly asked, "How's it going with Kunzite?"

"It's just wonderful. He told me what you said about us getting back together and about me. You really are a better friend to me than I ever knew. I was hoping that we could get together more. I really enjoy our time together."

"I do too. Is it weird for you that Jadeite and I are dating?"

"Yes, but not in the way you're thinking, and I am getting over it. Jadeite dating someone different means all of the guys could do the same thing." Mina looked contemplative.

"Actually, it means that any relationship you girls have with them is because of the way they feel about you now. Kunzite isn't dating you because of who you were, he is dating you because of who you are."

"Well, when you put it that way, it makes me even happier and no, I don't have a problem with it at all. So how was your date?"

"Fabulous, and then Raye showed up. Did you hear that?" Molly asked and shook her head.

"No! Oh my gosh, please tell me she didn't make a scene."

Molly snorted, "Do you even believe that's possible?"

Mina sighed, "No, I just hoped it was. So, what happened?"

"She said some mean things, I handled her, and then she stormed out. We then went back to having a wonderful time."

"Jadeite really let you handle her? He is literally like a knight in shining armor. I thought he would always ride to the rescue."

"He also respects me enough to stand up for myself. I think it helps that once I started speaking, I had the upper hand."

"There wasn't any rescuing needed." Mina stated with deep respect.

"Exactly."

"We're going to be great friends."

Molly smiled at that.

OooooooO

Zoisite got home, opened the freezer, looked in and slammed it shut. "Luna!"

She came trotting in as he opened a can of tuna, put it in a bowl, and placed it on the table.

"Jadeite ate it," was all she said.

Zoisite went storming up the stairs.

Luna heard Nephrite chucking from the living room and then quickly get up and leave the house.

OooooooO

Raye sat in front of the Great Fire for an hour and sighed. Nothing was happening. Still. She grew frustrated and walked back to her room.

She picked up the sword, and it seemed to hum through her. She quickly set it back down. Serena seemed sure it would try to teach her how she was wrong. Raye wanted none of that.

OooooooO

Darien sat down at the counter of the arcade and smiled at Andrew. "Coffee please. Oh, and I wanted you to know I'm meeting with Serena's father tomorrow."

"Are you nervous?"

"Incredibly. I don't really know him that well. I have the ring though, and I don't want to delay." Darien confessed.

"When do you meet with her uncle?"

"Tomorrow also. I'm just not nervous about that one. I know him much better, and he understands what she really is to me."

"Good luck with her father." Andrew poured Darien a cup of regular coffee.

"Thanks."

OooooooO

Zoisite barged in Jadeite's room and yelled, "You ate my ice cream!"

"Many times, yes, but not since I replaced it last time. Why?"

"Bullshit. Luna told me you're the one who finished it."

"If I was, don't you think I would have bribed her to say it was someone else?" Jadeite rolled his eyes.

"Crap, yes. So, it was Nephrite, Kunzite, or Serena; she has stolen my ice cream too."

"Yes, but she is against bribing Luna. She worries that everything we're feeding her will make her sick."

"Good point." Zoisite admitted.

"My bet is Nephrite. I borrowed his lunch the other day."

"That isn't borrowing," he shook his head. "I bet you're right though."

Zoisite went looking for Nephrite.

OooooooO

Serena walked into the lunchroom and saw Darien wave at her.

Darien stood and got her chair for her, "Thank you for joining me for lunch." He then kissed her on the cheek.

She smiled and said, "Thanks for grabbing lunch for me. How was class?"

"A lot to take in all at once. I learned a lot though."

"I bet you loved it," she smirked.

"I did." He smiled. "You know me so well."

"You're such a nerd. I love it."

"How's your day so far?"

"Busy. I'm finally learning the job from my uncle. I'm lucky I work for him, and I could delay when I started working."

"He's lucky to have you," Darien stated frankly.

He held her hand, and they continued to talk through lunch.

Those that knew him were stunned as they observed him. Not one could believe it was the same cold distant Darien that they all knew.

OooooooO

Raye was angry. The enemy had been defeated, and she hadn't been part of it. She had been so sure she would have been needed. She had repeatedly played out the scene in her head of the girls coming and begging for her help. In her musings, Serena always admitted that Raye was incredibly important.

Mina and Lita especially had betrayed her. They were her allies, and then they abandoned her to follow Serena. She wasn't surprised Amy sided with Serena. Weakness tends to follow weakness after all.

So, there she sat, feeling angry and alone and she hated it.

It never occurred to her that this is how she had felt before Serena had come into her life and welcomed her into her group.

The sword reached out to her and hummed through her, trying desperately to get her attention. She stood up and left the room.

OooooooO

Serena smiled and looked at the orchid that Darien sent to her. It was beautiful, and she loved the note that came with it even more. It read, "This doesn't count as flowers. Flowers die, but if properly cared for like love, it doesn't die. With all my heart, Darien."

OooooooO

Raye walked into the arcade, past Mina as she walked out, and refused to acknowledge her when she waved. Her eyes then locked on Molly.

Raye walked over, "Eating all alone? Seems to be a bit of a habit for you."

"Actually, I had lunch with Mina. You would know that if you were still friends with her."

"How does it feel trying to take over my life?"

"Great! Especially since I'm doing it better than you are." Molly smirked.

"You're failing. You have no power."

"Neither do you." Molly smirked and raised her eyebrow.

"Jadeite will grow bored with you and move on. You'll be left all alone." Raye just knew he couldn't possibly find Molly interesting.

"Thank you for telling me that. I appreciate any insight you can give me on him. After all, you have firsthand experience with Jadeite. How does it feel when he moves on?" Molly stood and walked out the door.

Andrew told a coworker he was taking a short break and ran to the breakroom to call Jadeite to let him know what happened.

They both got a kick out of how Molly handled Raye.

OooooooO

Darien saw Serena's father walk into the restaurant, and he waved at him to let him know where they were sitting.

"Hello, Sir. I'm glad you could come and meet me."

"I have no idea what this could be about."

They sat and looked at their menus then placed their breakfast orders. Darien was nervous. He hoped that her father had at least some clue as to what was coming.

Darien calmed his nerves and reached into his pocket. "Sir, I have come to love your daughter very much, and I wanted to speak with you."

"Didn't you break up with her?" her father asked.

Darien paled. This wasn't going well.

"I did, but we are back together now, and I regret ending things with her back then. She has forgiven me."

"That happens when you're very young and have a crush."

Dang this was bad, he thought. "Well, actually, that is what I wanted to talk to you about. I'm in love with her, and I want to marry her. I bought a ring." He pulled it out and showed her father.

He scoffed, "You should've just bought her a ring pop. It would've been more fitting."

"Sir, she is younger than me, but it doesn't matter. I'm completely devoted to her."

"She's legally old enough to make her own decisions, and she will. I'm not fooled though. You broke up with her once. I had hoped for better than that for my daughter." He placed his napkin on the table. "I'm done here. In my opinion, she's too young to marry, and you have made no real attempt to get to know me or my wife; her parents. I'm not impressed by a gaudy ring."

Darien held in his anger at the man who really didn't know his own daughter. He spent plenty of time around her. Her parents were the ones who were never around.

"Very well, Sir."

By the time breakfast came, Darien was eating alone. He had her father's waffles put in a doggie bag. He would eat them later.

They were delicious.

OooooooO

There was a knock at Molly's front door, and her mother opened it. Standing there was a man she didn't recognize with a huge bouquet of flowers.

"Delivery for Molly," he said.

"I'm her mother; I'll take them."

The delivery man handed them over, and her mother signed for them. She then brought them up to Molly's room and placed them on her desk. She then called her husband at work to tell him about the flowers.

OooooooO

Amy met Zoisite for lunch at his place. When she walked in, she handed him her shopping bag, and he pulled out his favorite ice cream.

"How did you know?"

"It was hardly difficult to guess."

"This is going in the back of the freezer." He first pulled out a black Sharpie.

OooooooO

Darien met Serena's uncle for coffee that afternoon at the arcade.

Her uncle sipped his coffee and said, "So, let's see the ring."

Darien showed him and asked, "Did her father tell you?"

"Nope. I figured it out on my own. Nice ring. She'll love it, and all the women will be jealous. Good job there."

"Thanks. So, you approve?"

"I won't even pretend I don't know what you're talking about. Yes, you two will have a great marriage." He smiled at Darien

"Thanks. Her dad doesn't approve. What should I do?"

"I'll talk to her. I'll let her know that he is against the two of you without mentioning a proposal. That way, you won't feel like she doesn't know when you are asking her to marry you."

"Thank you. I wish it weren't like this."

"He will come around eventually. I personally think his pride is stung right now. He feels she's doing better under my roof, and that must be hard. Now, she will be moving on completely, and he really hasn't been part of her life."

"That helps me feel better about breakfast." Darien sighed and really wished he had her father's approval.

OooooooO

Molly came home from work, and her mom was smiling. All she said was, "Go look at your desk."

She headed up to her room and was astonished by the size of the beautiful bouquet sitting there. She opened the card and it read, "To my beautiful Lioness. Jadeite"

She smiled and gave him a call.

OooooooO

Raye picked up the sword, and she felt the hum go through her whole body. She closed her eyes and felt the sword grow warm. She set it down and walked away to go do her duties around the temple.

She knew she was right, and she felt it was obvious that she had nothing to learn.

OooooooO

Jadeite was furious. "Who the hell got Luna to leave a dead mouse underneath my pillow?!"

Meanwhile downstairs, Luna smirked at Kunzite and laid her head back down on the couch pillow.

OooooooO

Serena met with Amy for dinner, and they were having a fabulous time. Amy was laughing as she told Serena about her dinner with Zoisite.

Serena laughed and said, "He really wouldn't share his dessert with you?"

"Nope! He ordered me my own though. Of course, I was so stuffed from dinner that I couldn't finish." She laughed. "He then proceeded to finish mine for me."

Amy then looked sheepish. "We're getting together to study tomorrow, and I bought something."

"What?"

Amy pulled out glasses.

Serena laughed and said, "You minx you!"

OooooooO

Luna scratched at Nephrite's door, and he opened it and let her in.

"How are you settling into the house?" He asked.

"I'm actually having a great time. I enjoy that I can talk in front of everyone who lives here."

"I never thought about that. Makes sense."

"I have a question for you. That was why I came here," she admitted.

"Go ahead."

"I want to know about your intentions with Lita. She doesn't have any parents, and I guess I am the closest thing she could get."

"Yet you can be bribed with cream and tuna," Nephrite dead panned.

"I don't hear you complaining. It gave you enough time the other day to get out of the house before Zoisite put it together that you stole the ice cream."

"Touché. And as for how I feel about Lita, in a way, she's like Serena."

Luna broke in and said, "Now, that I don't believe."

"Let me finish. Serena is all the good parts of Serenity, but better. That is the way Lita is. She is just as amazing and strong as she was, but she isn't as standoffish as she was. She's warmer."

Luna looked at him and nodded.

He continued, "I'm already a good way to falling in love with her. We went on a date, and it was everything I had wanted it to be in our past lives."

"I'm glad to hear that. Oh, and you may want to pick up tuna when you're next at the store."

"Wait, last I checked, I had some left. I'm out?"

"Yes," was all Luna said.

"Who took it?"

"I'm not telling." She said and winked at him.

OooooooO

Serena walked through the front door and saw Kunzite sitting on the couch reading.

"Something you wanted to talk to me about Kunzite?"

"Yes. If you ever move out, we're keeping Luna."

She laughed and said, "That's up to her."

"Like she will turn down the chance for food and to give us all a hard time."

"You like her," she stated.

"We all do."

OooooooO

Thank you for reading!


	29. Time to Make a Change

blueeyeddevil06 thank you for being my beta and fixing this.

Chapter 29 – Time to Make a Change

Jadeite walked into the arcade and sat at the counter waiting for Andrew to get back from taking an order. Once Andrew had entered in the order, he walked over, and Jadeite let him know he would like some coffee.

Andrew smirked and said, "It's regular coffee, don't worry."

"I have come to realize you wouldn't switch the coffee on me. We are team 'punched Darien in the face.' It's a good team, and there is a bond there." He smirked.

"Ha! That's very true." Andrew acknowledged. "So, how are you today?"

"Great. Darien is going to ask Serena to marry him. That's what we always wanted." Jadeite sighed.

"You're going to miss having her around the house, aren't you?" Andrew wasn't fooled for one second.

"Am I that obvious?"

"Yup!"

"Shoot. Yea, I will miss her. It will be great to see them married though. I better be Best Man."

Andrew scoffed, "I've known him longer, and I'm his best friend. I will be Best Man. Maybe you could be Maid of Honor," he joked.

"Shut up. Actually, that will be Mina or Molly. Sheesh, that will be hard for her to pick."

"Serena will figure it out, she has a knack for people. So, did you need something?" Andrew wanted to know.

"I wanted to run something by you. I'm planning to go and confront Raye. You think that is a good idea, right? I don't want to disrespect Molly's ability to handle things, but Raye is an issue because of me." Jadeite leaned forward and rested his arms on the counter.

"Raye needs to know what you will tolerate. It can't hurt for her to know Molly has your support. Also, you have been letting Molly handle things. It just isn't her burden to handle on her own."

"Thank you. I just wanted to make sure I was making the right decision. Can I have this coffee to go? I think I will head over to the temple soon." Jadeite sighed and rubbed his face with his hands.

Andrew poured him a to-go cup and wished him luck; he was going to need it.

Darien walked around the back of the house he had just purchased a week ago and saw a whole team of gardeners working on planting roses and perfecting the gardens.

"It's looking amazing," he said smiling.

The head gardener he hired walked over to talk to him, "Thanks. We're getting everything done according to your specifications, and I have to say it's really going to be lovely. Your wife is going to love it."

"Actually, it's my girlfriend. I'm going to be proposing to her right here soon."

"Wow. Well, it's going to be a perfect spot, and now I know why you're paying for it to be done quickly. She's a lucky lady."

"I'm the lucky one. I just hope she loves the house and the ring." Darien looked around. "The garden really is looking perfect. You're doing exactly what I asked for. Thanks."

He said goodbye to everyone and headed off to class.

Jadeite climbed all the stairs heading up to the temple and paused at the top. It really was a lovely place. He always marveled at the beauty of it. He sighed and hoped this wasn't breaking Molly's rule to let her handle things. He was impressed with her, she really was handling Raye perfectly. He felt that this was all his own making though. Without him in her life, Molly wouldn't be having to deal with Raye, and it really bothered him that he was the cause of irritation for her.

He walked over and noticed he didn't see Raye outside. So, he knocked on her door, and no one was there. He then headed over to the Great Fire and saw her sitting near it concentrating. He spoke up, "Hello, Raye. Have a minute to talk?"

She smirked and said, "I really don't think I have time for you. I thought I warned you not to come crawling back." She walked over and placed her hand on his shoulder. He immediately shrugged it off.

He had to remind himself it was for his relationship with Molly. This was all for her and why he was putting up with this right now. "You misunderstand the reason for my coming here." He looked and sighed, "Aren't you going to give up on trying to get something from the Great Fire? I thought you realized Serena took all of the power back that you were given."

"I was hoping the power she stole managed to come back to me." She spat the words and shook her head. "No luck so far."

"I would argue with you on that, but I would just be wasting my breath. Any luck with the Martian sword?"

"Are you hoping that it will 'teach' me something?" She snorted, "I have nothing to learn. I haven't bothered with it."

"You're impossible," he said, sounding exasperated.

"And I'm not taking you back." She quipped.

He sighed, "I don't want you back. I want you to stop making a scene every time you see Molly. She doesn't deserve what you say to her, and it's pissing me off."

"Did she go crying to you when she realized you would get tired of her?"

"Ha! Nope! She's amazing and nothing you say to her bothers her. It does, however, bother me that you're trying to hurt her." He let his aggravation bleed into his words.

"She isn't worth your concern," she said. She was annoyed that he was defending Molly to her.

"Use the sword, and learn your lesson. Maybe it will take the bitch out of you." He usually refrained from calling a woman that. He was just furious.

She grew mad, "How dare you call me that! I haven't even touched the sword. I have no intention of messing with whatever magic Serena put on it to fool me. You'll come around to see I was right. Soon enough, you will all be begging me to come back, and I will just laugh in your faces."

"Just leave Molly alone. Every time you confront her, it just disgusts me." Jadeite sighed, shook his head, and just walked away. He knew it was time for him to ask for a group meeting.

"Jerk!" she yelled at his back. She refused to let him have the last word.

Darien smiled at Serena after they told their waitress what that wanted to eat for dinner. "Go ahead. I know you have something on your mind."

"I do. I have something I wanted to talk to you about, but I don't want anyone else knowing about it. I know this is a date, but it is scout related."

"Serena, that doesn't make it out of bounds. If it's bothering you, or you just want to talk about it, then I want to talk about it too. I'm here for you for everything."

"Thank you. I'm just not ready for anyone but you to know about this."

"Then it will just be between us. It isn't a hardship to keep a secret with you." He really loved being her confidant.

"It has to do with Molly, and I'm wondering how it will affect her relationship with Jadeite." She really loved seeing Molly happy with him.

"You're worried that it will hurt their relationship? Why doesn't she tell him?" He was concerned for his friend.

"She doesn't have a clue. Truth is, she's Raye's sister reborn. She's the next possible Sailor Mars."

"Wow! Just, wow. I wasn't expecting that."

"I don't know what to do! I feel I should give Raye a chance, but the more Molly gets involved, the more I really want her to be Sailor Mars."

"I'm not even slightly partial. You know my opinion. Actually, you may not. I've been wishing she was one of your scouts for a while now, but that isn't what you need to hear from me. I will support whatever you do. I don't think anyone can accuse you of not giving Raye every chance to come back as Sailor Mars though."

"If I make Molly Sailor Mars, I will lose Raye's friendship for good." Serena admitted her deepest fear.

"Do you want her in your life as she is now?"

"No. I want it back like it was," she admitted honestly.

"You can't force her to change, and that isn't who she is now. That person you want doesn't exist anymore. If she makes a reappearance, by all means, accept her back. Just remember you aren't responsible for her actions or who she has become. Forgive her if you can, and move on." He desperately wanted to tell her to make Molly Sailor Mars now. He was so done with Raye.

"How did you get so smart about people?"

"I just thought about what advice I would expect to hear you give to someone in your situation." He admitted.

"Well then, I'm really smart." She smiled at him and leaned back in her chair.

"So, Molly is the next Sailor Mars." He smiled at that thought.

"Only if she wants to be."

"She does. She would be there for you in any way she could; you're both very close." Darien admired Molly.

"Do you think it would be weird for Jadeite? He would basically be dating the sister of his girlfriend from his first life." She shook her head. "Wow, it sounds like a soap opera storyline."

"That is already true though. He just doesn't know it yet."

"I would argue knowing would affect him more, but I see what you mean."

"You don't have to make any decisions yet. Raye still has the sword, and it may be working." He paused, "That makes so much more sense! I wondered at the time why your mother only mentioned Andrew and not Molly. She didn't mention her because she is from the Silver Millennium."

"That would be why. She was Raye's younger sister. Raye got precedence because of her age." Serena explained.

"She isn't younger now."

"It's killing you to suggest giving Raye a chance isn't it?" She smiled at him and gave him a peck on the cheek.

"Yup! She was mean to you, and it makes me angry. The only thing holding me back is the fact that you were able to forgive me, and it seems hypocritical of me if I tell you to not give her a chance."

"You're a sweetheart, and I love you."

"I will never get tired of hearing that." He admitted.

Later that night, he kissed her at her door and said goodnight. He couldn't wait for the day Molly replaced Raye as Sailor Mars.

"Jadeite, we're all here. What is this about?" Kunzite asked.

Serena, Darien, the scouts, generals, Luna, and Artemis had all gathered at Jadeite's request. Kunzite had rarely seen him as serious as when he had requested a meeting. Therefore, he gathered everyone quickly.

"I wanted to make a request to Serena, but I wanted everyone present when I did it. I want her to see there are no dissenting opinions on this." Jadeite explained his reason for getting everyone together.

Serena looked serious; she had a feeling this was about Raye. "Go ahead, General Jadeite. I'm listening." She was letting him know not only was she taking him seriously, but what he said was considered official business.

"Your Highness, Princess Serena," he did prefer her as she was in this life, so he used her current name, "Raye isn't using the sword at all. She has no interest in learning anything from it. She says you put magic into it just to mess with her."

Serena started to cry, "She hasn't used it at all? She was supposed to come back to us."

"I'm so sorry, but you need to know that. I'm asking as one of the ones promised to protect you to please go to the next Sailor Mars and ask her to step in and take Raye's place. She has been given more than enough chances. You're crying right now over a girl who would revel in the fact that she brought you to tears. She has used all of her last chances, and I don't like to see you cry."

Darien nodded and wrapped his arms around Serena. "It's time to talk to her and ask her to be Sailor Mars. You were an amazing friend to Raye, and she doesn't want to be in your life anymore. If it helps, you can look at it as her choice, and you're honoring it. She doesn't want to be a scout to Sailor Moon. I'm truly sorry, my love."

"I hate that I will have to give up on her," she admitted.

"Focus on all of us who are thrilled to be in your life. And think of the new Sailor Mars, she will be thrilled." He brushed his fingers over her cheek. "I would prefer her over Raye any day. She truly is the better choice."

Serena wiped her tears and smiled at Darien, "You're right, sweetheart."

"Wait, you know who she is?" Mina aske Darien.

"I do. She just recently told me." He turned to Serena, "It's time to talk to her. Don't forget to take the brooch."

She kissed him and then looked at Jadeite, "I assume everyone agrees with you." She looked at each person and cat, and everyone nodded. "Thank you, Jadeite, for coming to me. I was going to have a hard time making this decision by myself." She reached out her hand and squeezed his. "You have protected me from the moment you came back into my life, and now you're protecting me from having to make this decision on my own. Thank you."

Jadeite smiled at her and said, "You don't have to thank me. I serve you because I want to."

Her mind was now set, and she needed to approach Molly about becoming Sailor Mars. She would tell everyone after Molly made her decision.


	30. Sapphire and Sailor Mars

blueeyeddevil06 thank you for being my beta!

Chapter 30 – Sapphire and Sailor Mars

Sapphire walked down the hall of his palace and noticed the change in everyone he passed. He was overjoyed to see the happiness radiating from everyone. He completely understood the feeling now that he too didn't have to fight against the darkness trying to overwhelm him. He felt relaxed for the first time in a long time. Well, that, and the fact that he wasn't risking a torturous death anymore. That was a detail he was glad to revisit.

He knocked on Emerald's door. She opened up and, realizing it was him, she instantly bowed. "Sister, I told you that you don't need to be bowing to me."

"Oh, let me for a while. This is the first time in my life I haven't bowed to my king out of fear. First our father, and then Diamond."

"Very well. I hope you get over the novelty soon. It sets me apart from everyone and I don't like the idea of feeling above family. I'm not like Diamond."

"You'll just have to deal with it for now." She smiled and then said, "What brought you here? As much as I like seeing you now, you're busy. So you must have a reason."

"I'm going to go and meet with Serena and Darien to let them know about Wiseman. Any feelings on if you would like to accompany me?"

"What a pretentious name! No, I will stay here. I was about to go and oversee some more of the rebuilding of the cultural centers. Diamond did a number on them when he looted them to fund his expensive habits. It will take a long time to get everything back to what it was. The best part, of course, is that it is supplying jobs to much of the people that were left unemployed."

"I'm glad you are overseeing that. It's a lot of work and you're doing wonderfully. Diamond never valued you enough, and you have more than shown what a brilliant and caring person you are. Our people recognize it too. Although, maybe the caring part of you was exactly what he objected to." Sapphire smirked at her.

She smiled. She never had a family member encourage her other than Sapphire. And now that Diamond was dead, and they weren't living in fear, he did it all the time. She had never been happier. "Thank you, brother. It truly means a lot to me to hear you say that."

"I only say it because it's true. I'm sure you'll have a productive day. I'm going to head out now and go to Earth. Bye." He waved and left her to head off to work.

Knock. Knock.

Darien opened the door and welcomed Sapphire into his apartment. "Come on in. Serena's already here."

Sapphire walked in and said hello to both of them. "I'm afraid this is a formal visit; I have an update on the power behind Diamond."

"I was hoping you would say that," said Serena. "Thank you for looking into all of this. I know you're busy."

"What I have found proves that my brother would not have been left to enjoy his victory in retrieving the Silver Crystal if he had obtained it. He was just a puppet to a stronger power."

Darien commented, "That's what we're afraid of."

"Well apparently, there is reason for caution," Sapphire said. "The power behind Diamond calls himself Wiseman. Emerald agrees it sounds rather pretentious. Hopefully, that means his hubris will be a way to defeat him like Diamond's was. He seemed to trust Diamond to keep him updated which seemed odd. If I were Diamond, I wouldn't want anyone to know if I got my hands on the Silver Crystal."

Darien shook his head, "He seems like someone who would want to gloat and let everyone know he succeeded."

"Oh, I agree with your assessment. I was just pointing out that I would have acted differently in his shoes. Wiseman will come to try and take the Silver Crystal. I believe he thought it would be easier to take from Diamond. Especially once he was the one to give Diamond power. It gave him more control."

Serena spoke up, "It makes sense. I'm not excited to be a target again."

"This time it seems just your Silver Crystal is the target. Wiseman has no interest in possessing you like Diamond did."

Darien sighed, "Well, at least that is one less guy after Serena."

Serena huffed and batted at his arm. "Be serious." She then chuckled.

Darien looked her in the eyes and caressed her cheek, "I am."

"Back on the subject, I believe Wiseman has noticed that Diamond is dead or at least something has changed. Apparently, there was a deadline to update him that I didn't know about. Today, I found an alert buried in the system that went out before I even knew to stop it. I apologize that I missed it. I had been dealing with food shortages and a housing crisis and didn't get to the issue in time."

Serena softened, "Of course, you had to take care of the people your brother neglected. Wiseman was going to notice it sooner or later. Your priority has to be protecting your people."

"I'm glad you agree." He sighed, "As far as I could tell, we have at least two months before he arrives and becomes a problem."

Serena looked at Darien, "It seems we need to get back to training, and I really need to approach the next Sailor Mars tonight. I hope she says yes."

"She will. You know she'll want to be a part of all of this and help you."

"New Sailor Mars?" Sapphire asked puzzled.

Darien said, "The Sailor Mars you knew wanted to oust Serena as the leader and become the new head of the Sailors Scouts. She has also become quite mean and disrespectful to Serena and others."

"I'm glad you kicked her out." Sapphire admitted.

"There was a sister of hers reborn also, and she will become the next Sailor Mars. Serena is going to speak to her tonight. You will be introduced to her at the meeting we're having. Assuming you can make it to the meeting tomorrow night, it will be here." Every time Darien thought about Molly being Sailor Mars, he smiled.

"I will be here. What time?" He was looking forward to being part of the group.

"Six o'clock. We look forward to having you there," Serena said.

Sapphire smiled, "I look forward to it too."

He then left to return home.

Darien gathered Serena in his arms and kissed her lips. When he pulled away, her cheeks were flushed. "Darling, Molly will be happy to become the next Sailor Mars. Please don't worry about that."

She smiled and said, "How did you know I was still worried? Thank you for your support and encouragement. I just hope bringing her into danger is the right thing to do."

"First off, I know you and your caring, beautiful, perfect heart." He kissed her again and looked into Serena's eyes. He was overwhelmed with the feeling of love. "My love, she is the first one of us who will be given a choice. And like the rest of us, she will choose to serve you. We will all help keep her safe, and we will all soon be training together. You know Jadeite will make sure she's ready just as we will."

She kissed his neck and said, "It's still hard for me to believe sometimes that I am the Moon Princess. You all are so good to me. As for Jadeite and Molly, they are so cute together."

Darien kissed her again and pulled her down on the couch with him. His right hand went to the back of her neck, and his left had slid down her body starting between her shoulder blades and ending up grasping her butt. She moaned into the kiss and rested her hands on his chest. He then peppered kisses down her neck and cherished every moan he brought out of her pretty mouth. His right hand slipped around and grabbed her breast, and she made a delicious moan that drove him wild. It was quite a while before she headed home.

Serena and Molly were sitting at Molly's house later that night. Serena was glad to know her parents were going out on a date, and they would have the house to themselves for a while. The discussion she wanted to have with Molly shouldn't be overheard.

"So, how is it going with Jadeite? You two seem close. It's wonderful to see." Serena said and smiled.

"We're both glad to have your support. It's going really well. He has been incredible."

"I'm so happy for you two. You're great together. That brings me to the inevitable question; how's it going with Raye?"

"Annoying. Can I be frank and say I really would like to keep my feelings about her to myself? I understand you're upset with her right now, but if you reconcile, I don't want to have said bad things about her." Molly trusted Serena to understand.

"It seems you need to be updated on her yet again. So much has been happening that it is hard to keep everyone up to date. First, do you know that Jadeite talked to Raye about her behavior?" Serena really hoped he had told her.

"Yes." Here Molly smiled. "He really is being great about all of this. He is letting me handle her and respects me enough to not undermine me. Yet at the same time, he manages to talk to her and let her know I have his support without minimizing me. It feels incredible to have the respect and trust of a strong man that sees that I'm an equally strong woman."

Serena sighed and a huge smile crossed her face, "That's so incredibly romantic. Wow!" She paused and decided saying the next part wasn't betraying Jadeite, "You should know that he is afraid you'll decide he's too much trouble if she keeps this up. He really likes you a lot."

"I can't be scared off by her." Molly knew any trouble Raye gave her was worth it to be with Jadeite.

"He believes the only reason she's giving you problems is because the two of you are dating. He doesn't want you to decide it would be easier if you weren't together."

"He shouldn't worry about that." Molly stated with certainty.

"Well," and here Serena paused and looked nervous, "I have something I need to talk to you about. Gosh, I don't know how to say this." She took a breath and said, "I will start a little further back. Jadeite called a meeting, and he confronted me with the fact that Raye has no plans to use the sword and learn from it. She's still sure she's right and is still being cruel. He requested, and everyone else agreed too, that I talk to the reincarnation of Raye's sister and ask if she would be willing to become Sailor Mars."

"Wow, Jadeite must really be upset to go to you about it and not wait for you to make a decision."

"I appreciated his request; I would have waited too long. A new enemy is coming, and she will need time to train and be ready. The only one besides me who knows who the girl is happens to be Darien. I told him. No one else knows. Jadeite made the request, trusting me since I had stated several times that she would make a fabulous Sailor Mars."

Molly's shoulders drooped, "Is it petty of me to be worried about it? He's the only one not dating a Sailor Scout and now there will be this new, kinder Sailor Mars. What if he ends up having feelings for her? This isn't like it was for me with Kunzite. I'm starting to fall for him already. It would really hurt." She started to tear up. "Please, don't get me wrong. I want you to have this new Sailor Mars, one you can trust and who will protect you."

Serena shook her head, "Molly, don't cry and don't worry. You are the other Martian Princess; you're next in line to be Sailor Mars."

Molly froze and stared at her. "Wait, what?... I am who now?... Huh?"

Serena pulled out the brooch for Sailor Mars and held it out to Molly, "I'm asking you to become Sailor Mars. Come and fight alongside me and usher in Crystal Tokyo."

Molly held the brooch in her hand and said, "What do I say to activate my transformation?"

"Mars Power, Make Up." Was Serena's response. She was beaming.

Molly looked at Serena and said, "I will follow you anywhere. Mars Power, Make Up!" And she transformed into Sailor Mars. She walked over to the mirror and looked at herself. "These skirts really are short. But, I can't wait to start training." She then dropped her transformation and sat down next to Serena.

"They sure are. I bet Jadeite won't mind seeing you in such a short skirt." She then winked at Molly. "Thank you for becoming Sailor Mars. I waited for Raye so long because I had to make sure I wasn't cheating her out of her chance. I really wanted you to be Sailor Mars, and I was afraid that would make my decision for me."

"I take back what I said, I'm okay with Jadeite having the hots for Sailor Mars. You said he doesn't know about me though."

"He does not. I think he should be the next to know, whenever you're ready of course." Serena was overwhelmed by the easy acceptance and quick decision of Molly's to become Sailor Mars.

"Might as well give him a call. I'm nervous about his response, and I won't relax until I know." Molly admitted.

"I'll give him a call and ask him to come over here for a bit. Do you want to break it to him that he dated one sister in his last life and another in his current life?" Serena laughed.

"I think I will let my Princess that I serve tell him that I'm Sailor Mars." She winked.

"Chicken," Serena accused.

"Yup!" she said and laughed.

Serena called Jadeite and asked him to drop by Molly's house. She explained they needed to talk to him about something. He knocked on the door completely unprepared for what was coming.

Jadeite sat in the living room and stared at Serena, "Okay, so you both look nervous, so now I am too. What is it that you need to talk to me about? Molly, please tell me you aren't breaking up with me. If Raye has become too much, I can talk to her again. Please give me another chance."

Molly smiled at Jadeite and took his hand, "Raye is about to become a problem for me all on my own. She will come after me, and it will have nothing to do with you. And, I have no intention of breaking up with you." She looked at Serena with pleading eyes.

Serena got Jadeite's attention and said, "You asked me to speak with the next Sailor Mars and ask her to step into that position. I have done that, and she accepted the responsibility right away. It was actually humbling and touching how quickly she accepted the role. We thought you would like to be the first to welcome the new Sailor Mars into our group. Right, Molly?"

Molly then said, "Mars Power, Make Up," and transformed into Sailor Mars in front of Jadeite.

"Shit, you're hot! I mean, wow. You're Sailor Mars? Ummm..."

Serena laughed and said, "Molly, I guess that answers how he will feel about it."

"That would have gotten really uncomfortable back in the Silver Millennium when I met Raye's sister and fell for her instead." Jadeite said with certainty.

Molly smiled, leaned over, and kissed his cheek. "You are a darling. You're okay with the fact that I have become Sailor Mars?"

"If I really thought about it, I would have expected it. Serena really was describing you when she listed the qualities of the next Sailor Mars, the better one. Also, it explains why you're a youma magnet. You're supposed to be around them to fight them."

"Oh my gosh! That is so true! How funny is that?" Molly giggled.

"Tomorrow morning, can you meet me in the woods at the park, and we can begin training together? I want you to be able to defend yourself. We will start with just normal human moves first." Jadeite wanted the chance to train her, and if he had to get a little hands-on to do it, so be it. Gosh he was going to love training with her.

Molly smiled and said, "I would love that."

Serena looked at them both and smiled. It had gone better than she had hoped. "Okay, out you go, Jadeite. You'll see her tomorrow; we have a sleepover to get back to." Serena knew he would need some time to process everything, and they could talk in private in the morning.

After he left, Serena leapt up and said, "Let's go plan your outfit. You should look hot when you're training with him."

Molly shook her head and followed her. She didn't hate the idea.


	31. A Time to Prepare

blueeyeddevil06 thank you for being my beta and fixing my grammar.

Chapter 31 – A Time to Prepare

The next morning, Jadeite met Molly in the woods by the park at their agreed upon time. And, damn if the years hadn't matured her body and her curves.

"Shit." He rubbed his hands over his face. "That isn't fair." His eyes then raked over every inch of Molly's body. "How am I supposed to concentrate with you dressed like that?" His gaze had grown hungry.

Molly smirked and said, "We have to train you too. You can't be distracted in battle with my short skirt and tight-fitting top."

"This will be a new experience for me for sure. Now, I have to fight while I'm turned on." He gestured towards his pants.

Molly gave a coy smile and said, "Impressive."

Jadeite took determined strides towards her and wrapped his arms around her. He then groaned when she came in contact with his body, and he pressed a deep kiss to her lips. She parted her lips, and he pillaged her mouth, tasting and exploring her. His hands dug into her perfect ass.

He pulled back from their kiss just long enough to say, "You like that?" And he rocked forward so she could feel him.

She only managed a breathy yes before he was kissing her again.

OooooooO

Luna was laying on a pillow on the couch in the living room when she heard movement in the kitchen. Her tail flicked, and her ears perked up immediately. She then jumped up and quietly walked into the kitchen.

"Shucks, Uncle. I was hoping someone was getting into Zoisite's ice cream. I want a treat." She looked dejected.

He chuckled and pulled out a can of tuna from Nephrite's stockpile. "This will be our secret." He then opened it, put it in a bowl, and then placed it on the table.

"I'm really curious as to what he did to you. Care to share?" Luna asked as she leapt up onto the kitchen table and stalked over to the tuna.

"He keeps leaving his dirty socks laying around. I'm tired of asking him to pick them up." He then went back to making himself some coffee.

Luna made a mental note to drag out some more of Nephrite's socks tomorrow.

OooooooO

Serena sat cuddled in Darien's arms on his couch as she read her manga, and he studied his biology textbook. She had a pile of manga next to her on the floor, and periodically for the last hour, she would lean over, get the next book, and settle back into his arms.

She couldn't remember a time when she felt more content.

OooooooO

Emerald surveyed the group of people working to restore the current cultural project she was viewing. The paintings were being professionally cleaned and restored, and everything was carefully being returned to its rightful place. A couple of rooms away, the floor was being cleaned after the walls had been painted. She knew she had four other locations she needed to view that day too.

"The work you're doing here is incredible. Your team is right on schedule. I can't wait until we can move this group onto the next project and open this one to the public." She wanted everyone to know that their work was impressive and reassure them that they will all still have work once this project is completed.

She recognized the dignity shining in their eyes once they were given meaningful work, were able to support themselves, and in many cases, a family. She saw it and recognized it in her own eyes.

Yes, she started out wanting to stop Diamond and keep Serena away from him, but now what she wanted was her brother's approval. That was her goal. She did recognize that she needed to learn to find worth in herself without the support of a man, but she was confident that was coming. Baby steps. She had been torn down her whole life. It would just take time.

Her success handling this project was helping. She chuckled. She bet that was part of why Sapphire asked her to do this.

OooooooO

Darien had been studying for an hour and a half, and he noticed Serena had a pile of read manga sitting next to her on the couch with a dwindling pile sitting on the floor.

He arched his neck to stretch it and was about to close his book when he had an idea. He left it open sitting on his lap, and he quietly moved his left arm from around Serena's waist to pinch her nipple through her shirt. He smirked, he got it first try. He then grabbed her breast and heard her let out a low moan. Fuck that turned him on.

He leaned over to whisper into her ear, "Time for a study break. Don't you agree?"

She arched her back, leaned into him, pressed her breast up into his hand, and dropped her book. "Do that again."

He closed his book, set it on the floor, and grabbed her breasts with both hands. "As you wish, my princess." He then pinched both her nipples and kissed down along her neck.

The noises she made drove his fantasies for a long time after that.

OooooooO

Jadeite arrived thirty minutes early to Darien's apartment. Serena was surprised when she answered the door. "Come on in. Darien is just finishing up some studying."

Jadeite looked incredulous, "He has a pretty girl in his apartment, and he's studying?"

Serena laughed at him as they walked into the living room, and Darien looked up at them.

He had heard them and replied, "That's the benefit of study breaks." He winked at Serena and turned back to Jadeite, "I was about to take one. This better be good."

Jadeite laughed at Darien and said, "You should try training with her then. I discovered the benefits of that this morning." He turned to look at Serena, "Oh, and thank you for the advice you gave her on her outfit." He pointed at himself, "Big fan."

Darien looked at Serena and looked thoughtful, "Hmm. Why don't we train tomorrow morning? I don't have class until the afternoon."

"Well then, I will dress appropriately."

Darien shook his head, "You better not."

Serena laughed and said, "Deal." She then turned to Jadeite, "You came early for a reason. Did you want to talk about something?"

"Molly is Sailor Mars." Was all he got out first. "I mean, what's Raye's reaction going to be? She was already cruel to her, and now, well...now she'll be even worse!"

"And, you're worried for Molly." Serena stated. She sat on the couch and indicated that he should sit too. "Don't be."

"What?!"

"Molly was already handling her. Raye will call her your "Sailor Mars Stand-in" and Molly will laugh in her face. What can Raye actually do to Molly? Bully her? It has already become apparent that anything she says doesn't get to Molly. She definitely isn't stronger than Molly anymore. So, she can't hurt her physically. She could try to spread rumors, but we aren't in high school anymore. Who would she tell them to? Don't worry."

"What if she convinces Molly I don't really love her?" He sighed and sank down low in the armchair.

Serena cocked her head and said, "Do you love her?"

"Dang. I should've said that to her first. Yes, I'm in love with her," he admitted.

Darien said, "Then from experience, let me tell you that you just need to leave her assured of your feelings and not able to doubt you. Kunzite would be good for a talk on that one. He's the one who helped me explain my feelings to Serena."

"Thank you both for that, and I'll ask him. As much as we all give each other a hard time, he really is there for us when we need him." Jadeite sighed and wished he could talk to Molly in private soon. He decided he would walk her home after the meeting.

OooooooO

Sapphire arrived at Darien's apartment building at the same time as Nephrite and Lita, and he joined them in the elevator.

"It's nice to finally be able to introduce myself. Lita, Nephrite, I'm Sapphire."

He was shocked that they seemed genuinely glad to speak with him on the elevator ride up to Darien's apartment. Apparently, Serena and Darien's trust was all he needed to gain to fit in among them.

He wondered if he would ever get to the point where kindness and trust wasn't a shock to him.

OooooooO

Darien smiled from the couch as Serena welcomed each person into his apartment. He thought of the ring box he had locked in a box in his nightstand.

He desperately wanted to put a wedding band on her finger.

OooooooO

Wiseman stalked the halls of his spaceship, and he was pissed. Diamond had failed to update him on schedule, and he hoped that meant he was dead. A disobedient Diamond was not something he was willing to tolerate.

Death meant that the Silver Crystal hadn't been retrieved from Serenity. That meant he needed to go in person and get it himself and that the power that he craved was still out of his grasp at the moment.

He paused his steps and thought about how he would just have to snatch it himself. He then smiled. There was satisfaction to be gained by getting your own hands dirty.

He changed directions and checked his progress. If he pushed the ship to its limits, he could be there in six weeks. He didn't care what condition the ship arrived in. He would have the power to control Earth, and he wouldn't need to hide out on his ship anymore.

He chuckled, got to work, and adjusted the thrusters.

OooooooO

Sapphire wasn't the only one who enjoyed being involved in the current meeting. Molly was sitting wide eyed and amazed at the whole thing. They were all talking to someone from Nemesis about an alien who called himself Wiseman and about a threat to the planet Earth. Wild! How was this her life? Then it slowly trickled in that also meant she was a Martian princess dating a general of Earth. She had to admit, she thought it all was awesome.

Sapphire had outlined how things were going with his people and moved onto Wiseman. He had just stated that it would take the new enemy two months to arrive in his ship with that model's structural limitations on speed.

Molly looked around and grew nervous. Should she speak up at the first meeting she attended? Maybe what she was seeing was obvious to everyone else and there were protocols or meeting guidelines she didn't know about. She sighed and raised her hand.

Darien chuckled when he saw her, and Serena spoke up, "This isn't like school, thank goodness. We all know how much I hated it. You don't have to raise your hand. What is it that you want to say?"

"I'm not speaking out of turn?" She asked, unsure of herself still.

"No, please just let us know anytime you want to say something." Serena replied.

Darien looked at Molly and said, "It will be a nice change to hear something helpful from Sailor Mars instead of the cutting remarks we used to get." He still resented Raye.

Molly smiled then took a deep breath and asked, "How long would it take Wiseman to get here if he only cared enough about the structural integrity of his ship to have it get him here safely?" She paused and decided to continue. Everyone looked interested. "If I were planning a battle strategy, I would plan on winning. Sapphire, you believe his plan is to take over Earth. If that is the case, he wouldn't need his ship once he gets ahold of the Silver Crystal."

Kunzite smiled, "Nice job, Molly! You're right, and we all missed that."

Molly just beamed under all of their approval.

Sapphire then went back to Nemesis to retrieve the information Diamond had been given by Wiseman. It included what ship to look for once Serena had been captured. He then searched the database for the information it had on that type of ship, and then he then returned.

For Jadeite, the next hour included him smiling at his brilliant Molly, him trying to understand the technical mumbo jumbo that Amy, Zoisite and Sapphire were speaking, and him trying not to laugh at Zoisite's reactions every time Sapphire was dazzled by Amy's intelligence.

Seriously, it was worth all of the boring techno-speak just to observe Zoisite. Jadeite would have paid money for this show. And right now, he decided he would give his right arm to know what Zoisite was thinking.

Zoisite was really annoyed. He hated watching Sapphire admire Amy's intelligence. He knew she was beautiful, but when she was working, she was downright sexy. He didn't like King Sapphire admiring her. It made him feel inferior, and he hated it.

"Brilliant." Sapphire stated.

Zoisite, by now, had lost the thread of the conversation. He was just seeing red. He wanted to punch him and drag Amy from the room. He knew that would be a bad idea, so he stopped himself, barely.

Sapphire beamed, "You're just amazing. I can't believe you were able to calculate that. Remind me to buy you something nice to say thank you. A necklace perhaps?"

That was it for Zoisite. "Just fucking stop, or get out! If you don't stop flirting with the woman I love, I will kick your ass."

The whole room quieted and stared at Zoisite. Zoisite turned and looked only at Amy. He couldn't figure out why she was starting to cry. "What?" He asked her lamely.

And then, he saw her features harden. She slapped him, and then she whirled around and ran out of the room, slamming what he assumed to be Darien's bedroom door.

Sapphire whispered loudly to Darien, "Please, tell me that wasn't the first time he said he loved her."

Darien shook his head, "Sorry to disappoint you. Apparently, he is that much of a moron."

Serena paled and went running after Amy. They heard the door open and then shut after her.

"Dammit." Zoisite announced raking his fingers through his hair. "I screwed that up, didn't I?" Without waiting for an answer, he marched down the hall and knocked on Darien's bedroom door. Serena opened it up, looked at him, and then closed the door in his face.

He heard her say, "Zoisite is the one at the door. Should I let him in?" He couldn't hear the response and then he heard, "Let me know if you need me." He then jumped as the door opened, and Serena stepped out and shut the door behind her.

She looked him in the eyes and said, "Fix this." She then whispered, "She thinks you just said that to get Sapphire to stop flirting with her. If you meant it, and you better have, you need to let her know it's true." She then shook her head at him and walked away.

Zoisite opened the door once Serena was back in the living room and stepped into the bedroom. The first thing he noticed was Amy sitting on the bed with tears in her eyes. He walked over, sat next to her, placed his hand under her chin, and lifted her face to look at him.

He looked her in the eyes and said, "I shouldn't have told you like that dear, sweet Amy. I fell for you so fast and so hard that I didn't tell you out of fear that you would think it was too soon. He is a king, and he can offer you so much more than I can. I'm terrified of losing you, but I didn't lie about my feelings. I'm only sorry that I told you by yelling the words in anger at him."

She swiped the drying tears from her eyes and said, "You love me?" She searched his eyes for the truth.

"Amy, I'm completely head over heels in love with you." He stared at her, hoping she would find that he was telling the absolute truth.

"You know he was just flirting to make Darien feel better, right? Sapphire admitted to being in love with Serena." She chuckled and shook her head. She didn't understand how Zoisite could be so worried about Sapphire.

"That's the dumbest thing I've heard of lately. Wait, there was what Darien did. Nevermind. That's the second dumbest thing I've heard of." That got her to smile." My point is, how does moving on to having feelings for you make things better and less awkward?"

"He doesn't have feelings for me." She shook her head.

"Amy, one day you'll see how amazing you are. He wasn't flirting to make Darien worry less. He was flirting because you're amazing." He paused and shook his head, looking disgusted with himself. "I don't know why I am trying to convince you another guy has feelings for you. I'm shutting up about that now. Point is, I love you, and I shouldn't have told you like that."

Amy smiled at him and kissed his cheek, "I love you too."

He leaned in and pressed a deep kiss to her lips. He groaned when she parted her lips to him so he could deepen it.

He leaned back and sighed, "As amazing as kissing you is, I would rather not continue this on Darien's bed."

She nodded in agreement and asked, "Want to come by my place after this meeting?"

"Hell YES!" He said, and then gave her a sensual growl.


	32. Proposal

blueeyeddevil06 thank you for being my beta and fixing my grammar.

Thank you all for reading.

Chapter 32 – Proposal

After training, Serena shook her head and grabbed her things. She was ready to leave. Darien trotted over to her before she could walk away. "I'm sorry. It just made sense for us all to train together. I forgot I hadn't told you."

She stopped and turned to look at Darien, "I get that we all need to train with Molly as Sailor Mars. I just would have liked a heads up. This outfit was not intended for group training." She gestured to what she was wearing.

Darien's eyes roamed over her body, and he stepped closer, "You look so sexy." He rested his hand on her hip.

"That's my point!" She exclaimed. "Do you really like that the guys got to see me wearing this, and what if Sapphire hadn't had a meeting? He would have been here too."

Darien narrowed his eyes. He had to admit she was absolutely right, "Next time, I will not forget to tell you. Even though I do enjoy any time I can see you dressed like this," he purred in her ear.

Goosebumps ran down her whole body, and she leaned into him. He leaned down and claimed her lips, and she dropped her bag and wrapped her arms around him. "It was a good idea. I was just looking forward to some time alone together."

"Tonight, I promise we will be all alone. I will take you out somewhere fancy to make up for this morning." He smiled down at her.

She kissed his cheek and whispered, "I'll wear something sexy and see if you can keep your hands off me then."

"And, why would I want to keep my hands off you?" He asked incredulously.

"Good point." She winked at him, bent down, and picked up her bag, waving at him, "See you tonight, babe!" And she walked away knowing her butt looked good in the tight shorts she was wearing.

He knew that was the last time he would see that perfect girl and her sexy ass walking away from him as his girlfriend. Next time he had to say goodbye, she would be his fiancé.

OooooooO

Darien sighed for what felt like the hundredth time. He was growing impatient for the evening, and he had run through his plans countless times, making sure he was prepared. Really, all he needed was Serena and a ring, but he wanted it to be special. He had put her through so much with the breakup. He wanted her to be completely sure of him when she said yes. Now, he just had two hours and forty-eight minutes to wait. He sighed again.

OooooooO

Dinner was a nightmare. Darien had made a reservation at a really nice restaurant, and it turned out to be on the night it was visited by the health inspector. The kitchen was spotless apparently, but the food took forever. The cook staff obviously couldn't cook and answer questions at the same time. What made it worse was he couldn't reasonably complain to anyone about it.

He smiled at Serena and then took a sip of his water; he really hoped their food would come soon. Just as he finished that thought, a nervous waiter came out carrying what looked to be their food. Darien smiled at Serena and then indicated the food was coming.

The next part felt like it was in slow motion. Serena turned to look toward the coming food. Her stomach had been growling for the last fifteen minutes, and just then, the waiter faltered in his step. The whole tray of food came down right in her lap. Before the waiter could react, Darien was up and trying to wipe hot food off of her.

"I think this means we should take this to go." She said and smiled weakly at Darien.

The waiter was a mess of apologies and trying to pick up the plates and tray that had fallen on her. He then quickly ran off to get the manager in a panic. By that time, everyone in the restaurant was looking at them. After all, they were all waiting for food and had nothing better to do.

The manager came out full of apologies and with promises to get them new food. Darien quickly stated that they wouldn't be staying since Serena was covered in food and starving. He then wrapped his suit coat around her and ushered her out of there.

"Well, that was a disaster!" Darien was incredibly frustrated; he was supposed to be proposing tonight to Serena. Not to mention she looked so sexy in that dress that he hated the idea that it was ruined.

"I don't really want to head back to my place and face the boys looking like this. I would never hear the end of it. Can I borrow some clothes from you?"

He kissed her cheek and drove her to his apartment. He found her clothes that were way too big on her but looked sexy because she was wearing them. He had to remember to have her wear his collared shirt and a pair of boxers again. He then heated up some leftovers from the day before, and they sat on the couch and ate together.

"Are you up for going for a drive? I have something I still would like to show you." He asked, hoping he could still save the night. He couldn't put off asking her, he loved her too much.

They drove the short way to a house Serena recognized, but wasn't sure why they were going to. "I have always loved this house." She said and didn't notice Darien's huge smile.

They walked around to the back yard, and she gasped. It looked like a slice of paradise. The beautiful smell of roses permeated the air, and there were thousands of twinkle lights lighting the gazebo and the backyard. She looked transfixed and said, "This is beautiful!"

Darien led her to the gazebo and had her sit on the cushioned bench placed there. He then sat next to her and kissed her forehead.

He took a breath and said, "Serena, since the moment you came into my life, you have been a shining light and chased away the darkness and loneliness. You have always been the most amazing woman. You radiate kindness, joy, purity, and love. Everything in my life has more meaning and worth just because you're there with me. I want to be the man to support you in your dreams and in your life. I want to be your partner in everything and the man you can rely on to be there for you always." He slipped off the bench and down on one knee. "Serena, my love, will you marry me?"

"Yes!" Was all she was able to get out before she was crying tears of joy and clinging to him.

He kissed her and pulled back, chuckling. "I forgot to pull out the ring." He then removed it from his pocket, opened the box, and heard her gasp. "I take it you like it."

Serena put it on her finger and admired it, "Trying to make a point to guys like Sapphire?" She winked at him.

"No comment," was his reply, and then he was kissing her.

When he pulled back, she looked around and said, "Care to tell me why we are trespassing? As amazing as this is, I would hate to be arrested."

"Actually, that is the next thing I wanted to tell you. I bought you this house. Well, us this house. I hope you like it, and it's near your uncle's home. I thought you would like to be close to him and the guys."

She began crying again and smiled at him through her tears, "This is perfect! I couldn't be happier right now."

He helped her up from the bench and proceeded to show her around the house where they would build their lives together.


	33. Decisions

Blueeyeddevil06 thank you for being my beta!

Chapter 33 – Decisions

Serena was not happy at all. She had agreed to meet her parents for breakfast early this morning, and from the moment she walked in, it hadn't gone well.

She approached the table and heard, "Serena, I thought you were on time now that you grew up a bit." Her mother had stated while shaking her head at her.

Serena looked at the time on her phone. "Mom, I'm three minutes late. I walked here, and I just didn't time it perfectly." She sighed, sat down, and opened her menu.

Her dad took a sip of his water and then asked, "When are you moving back home now that you have been back for a while?"

"Dad, as much as I love you both, I'm not moving home." She knew it was time to tell them she was engaged. "I have liked living with my uncle and the guys, and eventually, I will be moving out. But, it's because I'm getting married." She held out her ring for them to see and said, "Darien asked me to marry him."

That was when the attention of the whole restaurant was brought to their table. Really, she could go a long time without being a spectacle at a restaurant again. Why did this keep happening? This morning, it was because her father had just yelled, "You can't expect us to be happy with your engagement! We don't approve!"

Serena looked at her angry father and her pale mother. It was hard for her to gauge what her mother was really thinking about the proposal. "Uncle said you didn't really approve of Darien. I don't really care. I went a whole year without seeing you, and I have barely seen you now that I'm back. When I did live under your roof, you didn't really spend much time talking to me other than to criticize me or kick me out of the house because of my grades. Never once did you offer to sit down with me and help me study. I have gotten myself to the place where I am, and I'm not really looking for your approval. I was just informing you that I'm getting married. And, I cannot fathom why any parent in your position could object to him. He is going to be a doctor and is at the top of his class. Most fathers would be pushing their daughter towards him no matter their daughter's feelings. Well, I love him, and we're amazing together." She stood and put down her napkin. "I have better things to do than to continue making a scene in a restaurant. Goodbye." She then turned and walked out, leaving them and their opinions behind.

She was disappointed later when her mother hadn't called her to talk to her. Serena sighed and decided she must agree with her father.

Molly sat at the arcade talking to Andrew and drinking coffee. She needed the caffeine after the late night she had. She had tried practicing with her Sailor Mars powers deep in the woods all by herself. She wanted to not look like a total amateur anymore. Technically, she was, but it didn't mean she wanted it to be so obvious.

Andrew asked, "So, what's wrong? You look exhausted and annoyed. That's a hard combination to pull off, but you're nailing it."

She gave a light laugh, "I was up late practicing with my powers. I want to look less ridiculous next time we all train together." She then suppressed a yawn.

Andrew shook his head, "You should really take Jadeite with you when you do that."

Molly grew really annoyed, "I can defend myself just fine. I don't need to take someone along every time. I'm not a child."

Andrew gave a nervous laugh and shook his head, "You misunderstand me." He wiped a spot on the counter and looked back up at her. "You don't need protection, but you do needhelp. This isn't something any of them did alone. Serena had Darien from the very beginning. Why hold yourself to a different standard?" He reasoned.

"She had his help in battle, not training."

"She never trained. Surely Darien would have been drawn to her and showed up to train with her if she did back then." Andrew reached for the coffee pot and poured her more.

"You do have a point there."

"The reason I recommended bringing Jadeite with you to train was actually to help him. So many times, he has mentioned to me that you have Raye so well handled that he really isn't needed. It would help to make him feel needed if you asked him to train with you. Going off on your own, while perfectly acceptable, will make him feel sidelined. You're capable of so much on your own, but you need to remember that it's in his nature to protect and help. It isn't that you're a woman either. He was brought back by Queen Serenity to protect Darien, a man. Also, I really think he wants to share this with you. He is so proud of you. He has been talking my ear off about how quickly you're getting everything and how brilliant you were at the meeting."

Molly's shoulders drooped, "Well when you put it that way, you're right. It would be nice to have him there and help by giving me advice. He has seen all of the scouts in action, and I was usually running away before and had my back to them." She then looked up and smiled, "He really has been saying those things about me?"

Andrew just smiled and nodded at her.

Molly pulled out her cell phone and called Jadeite, "Hey Jadeite, would you like to train together again today?"

Molly never knew how much his heart soared to be invited along and deeper into her life.

She hung up her cell phone and looked at Andrew questioningly as she saw that he stood there frozen. "What?" She asked.

He never got the chance to answer.

"So, you're by yourself again." Raye snarked.

Molly looked at Andrew, "Hear that Andrew? Apparently, you don't count as a person any longer."

Raye rolled her eyes, "I wasn't counting the person who was being paid to talk to you. Maybe that's it. Maybe you're just used to paying people to spend time with you."

Molly turned to look at Raye, "Please tell me you aren't going to be making a scene again. You always just end up making a fool of yourself."

Raye made a point of looking around, "You're the one who ends up looking foolish, and if you haven't noticed, we're the only three in here. See, Andrew was only talking to you because you were literally the last person in this place." She smirked at that.

"Are you so lonely that you need to come here just to try to get a rise out of me? That is just sad." Molly looked away and turned back to her coffee.

"I notice Jadeite isn't around. Surely he's off with some other woman by now." She gave a false look of pity and said, "Just wait until I am Sailor Mars again, and he comes running back to me. I've been working on regaining my powers."

Molly barked out a laugh at that, "You're just ridiculous." She refrained from revealing her brooch. She didn't want Raye going after it. "Serena already appointed the new Sailor Mars; she was at their latest meeting." Raye grew pale and Molly continued, "She has transformed into Sailor Mars also. You'll be hearing about her eventually when the next attack happens."

Raye looked livid, "Who?! Who dares to try to replace me, as if anyone could? She will fail; you'll see. I will get my power back, and she will be left powerless and alone."

Molly gave a slight mocking smile, stood up, and took a sip of her coffee. She started walking out of the arcade and turned before she reached the doors, "Me, I dare. I'm Sailor Mars. Goodbye, Sister." She then exited.

"Bitch!" Raye yelled after her, trying to get the last word.

After Andrew returned from the breakroom, he saw Raye was gone. Whew! He thought. He had no trouble admitting to himself he was a coward when it came to Raye and her temper.

Serena slumped down on Darien's couch and frowned.

"What's wrong, my love? I thought you would still be as happy as I am." He was puzzled regarding her mood since the moment she walked in two minutes ago.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but the wedding is wrong." She sighed.

Darien was frowning now too, "How am I supposed to take that?"

"No, not that part. Not us marrying. THAT is amazing. I had breakfast with my parents, and they aren't happy about our engagement." She sighed and slouched down, "That will be great for gossip, my parents looking upset while we promise to spend our lives together. And now on top of that, on the way over here, I realized I can't get married at the temple I wanted to."

"Raye." Was all he said.

"Yup!"

"Now, I get it. There might be an easy fix to all of that if you're up for it." He looked sheepish.

"I'm all ears." She looked hopefully at him.

"We could always elope. Several of the guys even recommended that very thing to me." Darien smirked because, technically, it was true. He was apprehensive that he may have upset Serena by suggesting it though.

"Darien, you are without a doubt the smartest person I know. Let's do it. Let's elope!" She paused and jumped up onto her feet. "We already have a house; we can stay here until it is furnished. We could really elope soon. I love it!" She beamed at him and then stopped before she leapt in his arms. "You did mean it, right? You weren't joking around, were you?" She looked so unsure of herself at that moment.

Darien looked her in the eyes and said, "I'm serious. I want to marry you soon." He then paused. "Shoot, you're under 20. We would need your parents' permission." His shoulders drooped, and he looked frustrated.

Serena shrugged and said, "I can get them to sign the paperwork. They might not like it, but they haven't once stopped me from doing whatever I wanted. I don't, for a second, believe that I was able to sneak out of that house for four years without them ever noticing once."

He narrowed his eyes and considered that fact. It annoyed him that they hadn't been watching out for her. He refrained from commenting and upsetting her further, "Can you get them to sign the paperwork Saturday?" He caressed her face.

"Saturday? Yes, I can do that. Wow, we're eloping. I need a dress, and we need wedding bands!" Her mind started racing.

He took her hand and started walking her towards the door. "I already have your wedding band to go with your engagement ring. Let's go buy mine right now." He then pulled out one of his credit cards, "Here, use this to buy whichever dress you would like."

"I can't just take your credit card."

"Of course, you can. Just use my card. By the time the bill comes, we'll be married anyway." He reasoned to her.

She looked shocked, "Good point. Wow! I can't believe we're getting married Saturday. Should we tell anyone or just surprise them?" She smiled up at him.

"I say we surprise them all. And hey, that way I don't have to pick a Best Man, and you don't have to pick a Maid of Honor," he joked.

"I didn't even think about that! How would we have picked? Jadeite would have been so mad if I made him wear a dress to be my Maid of Honor." They both started laughing at that.

They walked out of his apartment building and went to purchase his ring. Neither of them could stop smiling the whole time.

Later that night as Darien walked Serena home, Serena abruptly stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and Darien came to a halt. He took a couple of steps towards her and took her hands in his. "What is it, love?"

"You really want to elope with me on Saturday? You aren't feeling forced because of my parents?" Serena had tried to hold her voice steady.

"Sweetheart, you can't believe I ever dreamed of a big wedding. Besides the fact that I'm a guy and I didn't dream about my wedding; I don't have any family that I could even invite. The only family I really want, or need, is you. You will be there and become my wife. That is everything to me." He kissed her on the forehead then.

Serena sniffed, "Then we get married Saturday, and we spend the rest of our lives together. I love you."

"And, I love you."

Darien then walked her home and kissed her at the door.

As he walked away, he smiled realizing he would be sharing a home with her soon.

= I did look up how to elope in Japan. You can get married the same day you fill out the paperwork. If one person of the couple is under 20, they need the parents to sign that they have their permission.


	34. Raye

Blueeyeddevil06 thank you for being my beta!

Thank you for reading.

Chapter 34 – Raye

Serena was having a pleasant morning to herself while shopping for her dress for the wedding. As she stared at her options, she tried to decide what style she was going to go for to elope in. She smirked to herself and decided that it would have to be sexy and a pale blue to bring out her eyes.

That decided, she walked into the dress boutique and started looking around for a dress that would be perfect. Darien had convinced her to use his credit card for everything that she needed to purchase in the next week. She had smiled and kissed his cheek for his comment that everything that was his would be hers too soon enough.

She paused for a moment while looking through the racks. She then considered the thought that their relationship had become one of equals ever since they got back together. While that was true now, that hadn't been the case before the breakup. She acknowledged they were a better couple now; she just wished it didn't take that horrible breakup to make that happen. It had happened though, and she was glad they both learned something from it.

She returned to looking through the dresses and pulled out a dress in a beautiful shade of blue that would come to her mid thigh and had a beautiful sweetheart neckline. Perfect. Now, she just had to see how it looked on her.

She went into the changing room, looked in the mirror, and teared up. She had found it. She found the dress she was going to get married in. She then managed to find the perfect pair of heels to go with the dress. She went to the cash register and handed over Darien's credit card. She could barely contain her excitement.

She then exited the store and walked to her local dry cleaners. She wanted her new dress pressed and perfect for Saturday, and she was thrilled it would be ready after five the following day.

She exited the dry cleaners and almost literally ran into Raye. She froze and stared at her, not knowing what she should do. The day had been so perfect, and now she had come face to face with the person that was bringing the biggest heartache into her life right now. She straightened her shoulders and readied herself for the confrontation. She quickly decided that she had handled worse and came out on top. She could handle Raye.

Raye looked unsure of herself for a second and then rallied. "Well, if it isn't the princess herself. Where's your entourage?" She made a point of looking around. "I thought they had nothing better to do than follow you around and agree with every inane thing you have to say."

"Hello, Raye. How have you been?"

Raye scoffed, "I've been wonderful. I'm so glad I'm not expected to follow you around like the others and act like the sun shines out of your ass."

Serena sighed, "You do realize it's only you who is invested in this fight, right? I don't want to fight with you, and I want you back as my friend." Here, Serena paused and decided she would push Raye to realize how she felt. "You have all this anger, and not one of us even thinks about when you aren't around and making a nuisance of yourself. Only you are invested in any of this. And you, where are your friends? Do you even have one? We all would have remained your faithful friends if you hadn't decided to turn on me. It has to hurt that they chose loyalty to me over following you in your hatred of me. The crazy part is that I never made them pick sides. That was your decision to push them into picking, and now you're left with the consequences of it not going the way you wanted it to. Nothing you say to me can hurt me anymore; do you know that? You've already succeeded in hurting me, I despair that I have lost your friendship. So, congratulations. You won there. Move on from this and get a life, or come back and learn to be our friend again." Serena paused and said, "I just got engaged. There was a time when that would have meant celebrating with you. I'm sad that I've lost that."

Raye stood there as Serena walked away, and she didn't feel the need to get in the last word this time. Serena was hurting over what she had done, and it didn't bring as much satisfaction as she had expected it to. Maybe because Serena was right, and she didn't have any friends anymore. She was lonely, and she hated it.

Raye returned home, picked up her sword, and felt it hum and vibrate through her whole being. This time, she held on and didn't set it down right away when it began to feel warm. She slowly felt drawn towards the sword and sleepy. Her eyes drifted shut, and she let them close for a few seconds before opening them and being startled that she was looking at a vast beautiful field filled with wildflowers.

There was beauty all around her as she slowly circled around and surveyed her location. The birds were chirping, and the clouds were perfectly fluffy and white against an amazingly blue sky. She felt the sun warm her as she noticed the sword still in her hand, glinting in the sun. She then stood there and waited. And waited.

Nothing was happening.

She stared at her surroundings and huffed. She really wondered what Serena thought this was supposed to teach her. She set down her sword at her feet and closed her eyes. She was ready to be out of this beautiful place and back home. She closed her eyes and then slowly opened them.

She was still there. She couldn't figure out what was happening. She had put down the sword and nothing had happened; how was she going to get home? She began to pace, and time slowly passed.

"Hello." She heard from behind her and spun to face the person who had spoken.

"Finally! I've been waiting at least thirty-five minutes for you. Where am I, and who are you?" She demanded.

"You were waiting twenty-three minutes and forty-three seconds exactly. What's your hurry?" The man asked.

"I have better things to be doing than waiting around for you, and I asked who you are." Ray said imperiously.

"Oh, this won't do. This won't do at all. What right do you have to demand answers from me?"

"I'm Princess Raye of Mars, the rightful Sailor Mars. I am the owner of that sword." She pointed at the sword laying at her feet. Surely since the sword brought her there, it must be known to this man standing in front of her.

He drew her attention back down to where she had pointed and asked, "What sword?" At her feet, the grass was now bare. The sword was gone, and she gasped.

"How am I going to find my way back home now without the sword?" Raye fretted.

The man shook his head, held out his hand, and showed her the sword was in his grasp. "Do not fret. Here is the Sword of Mars."

"How did you do that? And what the hell is your name?" Raye was growing impatient with the man.

"Raye, you're asking all the wrong questions." He lifted the sword and pointed it at her heart. "Your heart has grown calloused. Tell me why that is."

Raye looked annoyed. "Like I would tell you anything! You haven't even told me your name. You have no right to know what's going on with me."

"That's too bad for you then that I already know everything. I just wanted you to think about your actions." He told her. He turned and began to walk away.

"Wait!" Raye yelled. "What are the right questions?"

He paused and turned to look at her. "Ask yourself what caused your heart to be so calloused."

Raye huffed and looked at the sword. "And then you will give my sword back?"

"You cannot really possess this sword. It's the Sword of Mars, and it belongs to no one but him."

"But, it was given to me." Raye insisted. She wanted it back, she didn't like to share her things.

He looked at her and held out the sword to her. "Feel the edge, but be careful."

She touched the edge and felt that it was very sharp. "How is that possible? It was dull when I got it."

"It's because I am holding it. If I handed it back to you, it would be dull again. You aren't ready to wield it, and it knows that." He brought the sword back down to his side.

"So, what do I have to do to get it to be sharp?" She asked.

"I already told you that you need to be asking the right questions." He stepped towards her and stopped within arm's length of her. "Are you ready to stop resisting, or are you going to waste my time like you have wasted your own?"

"I don't know why my heart has grown calloused. I'm not even sure it's calloused like you say it is." She admitted to him.

"Do you love anyone other than yourself?" He asked her, frankly.

"Yes! Of course, I do. I love my grandfather!" She grew defensive.

He laughed in her face and shook his head, "You love him because he always says yes to you and gives you your way. You don't truly love him. When is the last time you even spoke to him about anything that didn't involve how you were feeling or what you wanted?"

"Don't talk about things that you know nothing about!" She stomped her foot and glared at him. "I talk to him all the time!"

"My question stands." He waited.

She thought.

Her face looked pained and she continued to think about his question. When was the last time they talked about something not directly involving just her? … There had to be some time lately when that happened. "I just can't think of a time when I'm on the spot like this."

"I can leave and give you time. I really don't mind." He paused. "Or, I can give you the answer. It has been six months two weeks four days one hundred fifty-seven minutes and three seconds exactly. You noticed he was struggling to catch his breath, and you asked if you could help him with his chores for the day. You did. He was grateful for the help."

"Surely it hasn't been that long!" She racked her brain to prove him wrong.

He sighed and stated, "It has been that long, and you haven't noticed he is ill. He's afraid to tell you because he loves you too much to worry you. His heart is enlarged, and he worries about dying and leaving you behind." He shook his head.

"I would have noticed if he was sick!" She insisted.

"You're selfish. You haven't noticed."

"No!" She really wanted him to be wrong about her and about her grandfather.

"That's where you start."

"What?" She was puzzled by his statement.

"Your grandfather is your first step to finding your way out of your selfishness. Go to him. Help him, and for once, don't make it all about you." He drew the sword and looked at it. "Take my sword with you. The next time it calls out to you, pick it up, and let it bring you here."

"Wait! You are Mars?!" She exclaimed, surprised. "What else do I need to do?"

"Yes, it is my sword, and when I call it, the sword will come to me. As for what else you will need to do, it will be a difficult process. You have not acted like a daughter of Mars for a long time now. By your fighting and creating discord, you're acting more like a daughter of my grandfather, Chaos. My father, Jupiter, destroyed him for good reason. He brought utter confusion into the world, and that does not aid in the cause of war. Sons and daughters of Mars rely on discipline. That is what causes us to excel in battle. I'm ashamed of your actions. You, who should serve Serena just as I served my father, Jupiter. We are both parts of a whole, and I am not made less by my role in this universe. Neither were you."

He began to fade away as the sword appeared in Raye's hand, "Doing your designed part brings dignity. Right now, you're only bringing shame upon yourself." And then he completely faded away.

Raye blinked then found herself clutching her sword and standing in the middle of her room with a single tear tracking down her face. She placed the sword back in the spot she had designated for it and then exited the room in search of her grandfather. She was still reeling from her talk with Mars.

By the end of the evening, she was laying in bed weeping. Her grandfather was really sick and dying, and she had no one she could call. She was feeling very alone. For the first time in a while, she admitted Serena would have known what to say to her.

She didn't notice the sword twitch in its spot. Nor did it dawn on her she was still thinking only about herself.


	35. Elopment

Blueeyeddevil06 thank you for being my beta!

Chapter 35 – Elopement

Serena arrived at her parents' house on Friday evening and didn't even knock. She marched right in and found them and her brother eating at the dinner table.

"Mom, Dad, I'm eloping tomorrow." They gasped and her brother's eyes were wide open. "You will show up at exactly eleven and sign that I'm allowed to marry. Then you may leave if you choose to. Sammy, you may come and stay for the wedding if you would like."

"What makes you think we would show up and sign?" Her father demanded.

"How many times did you notice that I snuck out of my window growing up starting at the age of fourteen?" She asked instead.

"That hardly matters!" Her mother announced.

"It makes my point. You really haven't taken responsibility for me for years! You will come and you will sign because it takes less energy than taking responsibility for me. You have always taken the easier way out, and I expect you to do the same now."

"That is hardly fair, young lady!" Her dad was really mad at what she had accused him of.

"Oh, really? How many times did I sneak out of the house? I want to know. Also, how come you never noticed anything about me? I'm freaking Sailor Moon, and you never had a clue! I started fighting youma at the age of fourteen. I had a talking cat Luna in this very house and came home with injuries you never noticed constantly! Moon Crystal Power, Make up!" She yelled and transformed in front of them all. "Sammy, don't breathe a word about this to anyone. You both can't either, Mom, Dad." She narrowed her eyes at her parents.

"You're Sailor Moon!" Her parents both exclaimed.

"Yes, and you never had a clue! How could you not notice anything? I was your daughter and right under your noses. I even died once and came back to life, and you noticed nothing! Show up and sign the damn papers!" She dropped her transformation, turned, and stormed out of their house.

The moment she stepped out and into Darien's waiting car, she burst into tears and choked out, "They will be there. Don't worry."

"I don't give a damn about them right now. Why are you crying, and why did you become Sailor Moon? I felt you transform, and I almost went running in there." He wrapped his arms around her and comforted her while she cried.

She managed to calm down with his arms wrapped around her. She could feel how he loved her, and she met his eyes with her watery ones, "How could they not have noticed that I became Sailor Moon at fourteen? Am I really that invisible?" Her lip trembled.

He sighed and lifted her chin to look at him. "I noticed you from the very beginning. Even when we argued, you were the only woman I have ever really seen. You aren't invisible. They are the ones losing out on getting to experience what an amazing woman you are." He kissed the top of her head and pulled back. "Can I let you go just long enough to get to my apartment? Let's go there, and you can tell me everything that happened."

She nodded and gave him a watery smile, "That sounds perfect. Wait, do you have any ice cream?"

He smiled and gave a light laugh. "We're getting married tomorrow, and you're moving in. Of course I have ice cream." He gave her a peck on the lips and then pulled out of his parking spot.

She settled back into her seat and smiled. "You're a smart man."

Ring. Ring. Ring.

She dug her phone out of her purse and answered quickly, "Hello."

"Hello, Serena. It's Sammy. Can we talk? I hate what Mom and Dad have done to you. I had noticed something was strange, and yet I never said anything." He sounded distressed.

Serena looked at Darien and said, "It's my brother." And then went back to her call, "I would love to talk to you. Sorry for dropping everything on you like that. You didn't do anything wrong, and it wasn't really fair to you."

"No, I get it. You were mad at Mom and Dad, and we haven't really been close. Um…. Is there somewhere we could talk soon? I hate how things have been, and I have noticed the same things about Mom and Dad too. You aren't alone in that."

"I'm sure we could talk soon," she said. She looked at Darien with a question in her eyes, and he smiled at her.

Darien said, "Tell him I can loop back around to pick him up if he wants to come over to my place now."

She kissed him on the cheek and spoke into her phone, "Sammy, if Darien drove back to the house, would you like to come over to his apartment right now?"

"That would be great! Mom and Dad are both yelling downstairs, and I would love to get out of here. I will just leave a note. Don't come to the door. I'll meet you outside and just hop in the car."

They picked Sammy up, and he marveled at Darien's car and talked about it the whole way to the apartment. They had all come to a silent agreement to not broach any important subjects before they made it into Darien's apartment.

Once they were all settled in the living room, Sammy spoke, "So, there is so much I want to talk about and have questions about. Can we start with Mom and Dad, or will that make you cry again?"

"How did you know I was crying?" Serena asked.

"Mom and Dad might not notice things, but I do. Your eyes were red and puffy when I got in the car." Sammy looked at Serena and shrugged. "So, am I the only one who has noticed that they have a weird list of things they care about and things they don't care about?"

"It isn't a weird list," Serena replied. "Think about it. Anything that could make them look bad gets commented on, and the rest gets ignored."

Darien looked puzzled, reached over, and took Serena's hand, holding on to her in support. He worried that he didn't like what she was implying. How could someone miss how amazing she was?

Sammy looked puzzled too, "What do you mean? It seems like a random list to me."

Serena nodded and said, "It does at first. Think about it though. They get upset over grades, curfew, what we wear, leaving our things out in the front yard, the type of friends we have at the house, and how we talk to them in public. They ignore sneaking out, who we hang out with away from home, whether or not we study, how clean our rooms are, and things of that nature."

Sammy nodded, "Yes, a strange list. How is sneaking out okay when I was five minutes late one night, and I got a huge lecture?"

"The lecture included how that would look to the neighbors didn't it?" She asked. Sammy just nodded and she continued, "See what I mean? Anything that looks bad to the neighbors or anyone else they know upsets them. They want to look like the perfect family with the perfect children." She paused and sighed, "They only care about appearances, not me."

Sammy snorted in disagreement, "You mean not us. I started sneaking out seven months ago, and they haven't noticed or said anything."

Serena looked puzzled and then it dawned on her, "You're sneaking out through my room, aren't you?"

"Yea, does that bother you?"

"Nope! And really it hasn't been my room for a long time. I just knew yours would be hard to sneak out of. I had been thankful for having that room many times when I needed to sneak out at night to fight youma." She sighed and shook her head. "It isn't that I wanted to get caught. I just wanted the type of parents that would care about me enough to catch me. Does that make any sense?"

Sammy nodded and said, "It really does, and I agree. I just want you to know it isn't just you. They are like that with me too."

"I honestly wish it were just me. I don't want that for you for a second," she admitted.

Darien leaned forward and put his elbows on his knees. "Sammy, I haven't had the chance to really get to know you. Serena and I are marrying tomorrow, and you and your parents are the only ones who know that we are eloping. I asked her about a week ago to marry me, and I can't wait to have her as my wife. That said, I didn't think about the fact that it would give me a brother too. I'm hoping we could spend more time with you, and I could get to know you better. You are here comforting your sister and reassuring her that it isn't just her that has suffered. Man to man, that goes a long way to convincing me we will get along." He sat back and said, "I respect the way you have handled this situation. Especially since you're fourteen and acting so mature about all of this."

"I would like that. It will be neat to have a brother. Especially one with such a cool car." Sammy stated. "Hey, if I get my driver's license, can I borrow it when I go on dates? I bet I could get Tonya to go out with me if I showed up with that car!"

Darien laughed, "Once you have your license, show me that you are a good driver, and we'll talk. For the time being, I could be your driver for dates once in a while if you fulfill certain requirements. How about that?"

"Awesome! What are the requirements?" Sammy wanted to know.

Darien smiled and said, "They're simple. You always watch out for Serena."

"Huh?!" Sammy looked at Darien, "I don't understand."

"You will when you see it." Darien replied, "You have access to your parents and their comments. You let us know anything we need to know. You also are the brother of Sailor Moon; you can keep an ear out for anything important. Anything odd that is happening gets reported to us. Also, you are her brother, and she needs you as family. You spend time with her and make sure she has your support."

Sammy said, "I can do that!"

Serena looked and added, "And you get to be the brother of Sailor Moon meaning, if you need anything, call me. I'm not above kicking a bully's butt if they give you problems. Also, if you're on a date and there is a youma that I come to defeat, I will say hello to you by name to impress her."

"Awesome! Thanks, Sis!"

Darien chimed in, "You can't go and beat up a bully!"

Serena shrugged, "Fine." She looked at Sammy. "I will send him to do it then," and pointed at Darien. "That could be my husband's job."

Darien shook his head, "I want to be a doctor. I can't have an assault against a fourteen-year-old on my record."

"You could always go as Tuxedo Mask," was her reply.

"YOU'RE TUXEDO MASK?!" Sammy was shocked. "Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask are getting married. That's so cool!"

Darien chuckled, "Oh, it gets even better."

He then launched into their whole history and the present. He told Sammy everything including their deaths a thousand years ago. Sammy gasped when he realized his sister was a princess, and not only that, but the princess of their entire Solar System. Darien also explained Queen Serenity and their uncle.

"Wait, so who am I then?" He asked. "Was I from that Silver Millennium thingy?"

Serena looked at him and said, "I don't think so."

"Then why am I your brother now? Why give you a brother?"

"I was an only child on the moon. Maybe Mother didn't want me to be lonely here. I don't really know." Serena looked thoughtful.

"Bummer. It would have been cool to be a prince," he replied.

Darien added, "Well, there will come a day when Serena and I rule the whole earth. I guess we could appoint you as a prince then." He turned to Serena, "Don't you think so, my love?"

"Sounds great to me. Prince Samuel, I like it." She smiled at her brother.

"This is all so weird." Was his only reply.

Darien laughed and said, "We have had more time for it to sink in. You'll get there. For now, just keep her secret please."

"No problem. There's absolutely no way I can tell anyone she is Sailor Moon! Everyone knows that I have had a bit of a crush on her for four years, and she turns out to be my sister. Gross!" Sammy shook his head, "It would be so embarrassing to tell anyone."

They continued to talk about the new developments and chat for a while. It started to grow late, and Darien took Sammy and Serena home for the night. Tomorrow was going to be a fabulous day.

Saturday, Sammy sat in the back seat of his father's car in slacks and a dress shirt, and his parents fussed in the front seat. He was having a bad day so far and was hoping that his parents didn't spread that to Serena on her wedding day. He then remembered what Darien had said to him, and he knew he needed a plan.

By the time his parents arrived at their destination, Sammy knew what he was going to say, and as they exited the car, he spoke up. "Mom, Dad, I spoke to Serena last night. You're aware of that?" They nodded. "Well, I would like to help you both. We discussed today, and if you really are looking to show her that you disapprove, you should just sign the documents and leave. She wants you both to decide to want to stay for her wedding. If you just leave without saying anything, she will fully understand how upset you both are."

His father looked at him and nodded, "Thank you, Sammy. That is just what we will do. We don't need to be making a scene at the courthouse." He then looked at his wife. "Jefferson down the street works in the front offices, you know."

She nodded and said nothing.

Sammy had to turn his head away from his parents to hide his smirk. He had played that perfectly, and Serena was absolutely right about their parent's motivation. He hoped a drama free wedding would work as a last minute wedding gift from him.

They walked through the front doors, and he saw Serena there, looking apprehensive. She started to speak and then obviously changed her mind and closed her mouth, staying silent. Sammy winked at her. She couldn't have played that better, even if he had warned her what he was going to say to their parents.

Darien gestured for them to come and sign the paperwork. They showed their identification and signed. Darien thanked them, and Serena and Darien proceeded to fill out more paperwork.

Sammy was drawn away by his parents and his dad whispered, "Let's go."

Sammy paused and hoped the next part of his plan would work out right. "I wanted to stay out here in the hall and see if they do end up getting married once they have noticed the full scope of your displeasure. You'll need to know if you should be telling your friends and the neighbors they're married or not." He paused and pretended to be thinking things through, "I guess I could just catch a bus home afterwards. You both should head out before Serena begs you to stay and makes a scene."

"Smart thinking, Sammy. Let us know what happens." He turned to his wife. "Honey, let's go." He then drew his wife away quietly before Darien and Serena turned around.

Serena and Darien finished the paperwork and turned around. "Where are Mom and Dad?" Serena asked.

Sammy smiled, "I don't have a bow for it, but it was my last minute wedding gift to you both. I got them to leave without a fuss."

Darien gave him a nod of approval and a pat on the back, "Well done, Sammy! We're going to get along swimmingly. Thank you for doing that, and you have no idea how grateful I am to you."

"Hey, what are brothers for?"

Serena gave him a huge hug and thanked him too.

Darien said, "Let's go sit in the chairs over there and wait to be called."

Sammy's day had gotten a heck of a lot better. He realized that Darien's approval and Serena's happiness meant a whole lot to him.

Serena couldn't believe how fast the ceremony was over, and they were signing their names. They had been promising forever, and it barely took five minutes. She decided to write down the name of the man who performed the wedding. She got a kick out of the idea of one day explaining to him that he performed the wedding for King Endymion and Neo-Queen Serenity. She almost giggled out loud at the thought.

They walked out to the curb where Darien's car was parked, and Sammy turned to them. "I'll see you later. I'll hop on a bus and take that home."

Darien asked, "Wouldn't you rather I drove you home?"

Sammy shook his head, "Any other day and I would take you up on the offer, but today is your wedding day. Spend it with the new Mrs. Shields, and I'll be fine."

Darien beamed at him. "She is my wife, isn't she," he said. He then looked at Serena. "Want to get to our lunch reservations and then go back to our apartment?"

"Sounds wonderful," she beamed at him.

Darien leaned down and kissed Serena, his wife. Damn, that sounded good to him.

Darien then looked to say goodbye to Sammy and noticed he was gone. "I knew I was really starting to like him. Looks like he knows when to make a quiet exit."

= Note: I posted their wedding night as a separate story. Please be 18 or older if you go over and read it.

It is complete.

It is titled Wedding Night (Her Time to Shine)

Warning: Smut

You will notice I have references to that story in this next chapter. The next chapter will however still make complete sense without reading my other story. I wanted it to be totally clear that you don't need to read the smut in order to follow along with my story.

If I have any more chapters that are M for pure smut, I will probably add them to Wedding Night (Her Time to Shine) and change the story title.


	36. Sunday

blueeyeddevil06 thank you for editing this chapter!

Chapter 36 – Sunday

It was Sunday, and Serena and Darien had called a meeting. She was regretting it, and it wasn't even happening for another six hours. She rolled over and settled into Darien's arms.

"I really don't want to leave this bed at all today. Can't we call them and tell them we were kidding about the meeting?" Serena asked.

Darien smiled and said, "Your uncle and the guys will know you didn't come home last night and will want answers anyway. This way they show up when we are ready for them."

She sighed, "I guess you're right." She then pressed her body up against his. "But I am enjoying myself right… here."

"Oh, I know just where you like it," he stated and then leaned in to kiss her. "Who knew you had such a dirty mouth in bed?"

She giggled and smiled at him. "I didn't hear you complaining."

"Hell no! I thought I showed you how much I liked that and the fact that you're a screamer."

"I can't believe the neighbors called in a noise complaint!" Serena still was embarrassed over that.

"Oh no, don't you get embarrassed about that." He gave an animalistic growl. "I get turned on just thinking about the noises you made, and it strokes my ego to know I could get you to scream like that." He smiled, "Don't you dare stop."

She smiled coyly up at him, "I liked being spanked and you like it when I talk dirty. We learned new things about each other last night."

"Let's see what we can learn about each other this morning." He then pulled her underneath him.

Six hours later, Serena was welcoming everyone with a huge smile on her face. Darien just smirked because he knew exactly what put it there.

They had so many people in his apartment that some were finding seats on the floor. The generals, scouts, Uncle, Andrew, Luna and Artemis were all there. Darien was glad they were moving into a big house; twelve people and two cats were a lot for his apartment to hold.

Kunzite spoke as they all sat, "Well, what's up? I am guessing it isn't about Wiseman since Andrew is here and Sapphire isn't." He then leveled his gaze at Darien, "Also, Serena didn't come home last night. Anything you want to say about that?"

Serena smiled up at Darien, and he nodded at her indicating she should speak. She smiled and looked at the group. "Well, we eloped yesterday."

Every single cat and person other than Darien and Serena spoke at the same time. Darien shouted for them to all settle down. Slowly, they quieted down.

Serena spoke again, "My parents were… less than pleased that I was getting married. Uncle, I have a feeling you know what I'm talking about?" Here, she paused and waited for him to nod. "I was worried that they would be a detraction from our wedding, and I had also come to realize that I could no longer get married at the temple where I had wanted my wedding to happen." She then kissed Darien on the cheek. "Darien then suggested eloping and said that some of you guys had even suggested it before."

Jadeite yelled, "Hey! That isn't what I meant! I just meant that even if Darien's nightmares had been true and you would have died at the wedding, he then should have just asked you to elope."

All of the boys nodded and grumbled.

Lita spoke up, "The real point is that Darien suggested it to spare Serena suffering brought on by her parents. That is really sweet and thoughtful."

"Damnit," Jadeite said, "Andrew and I will never know which one of us would have been picked as Best Man."

Andrew shrugged, "Jadeite, your feelings are spared this way since it would have been me."

Molly giggled. Jadeite looked at her and said, "Aren't you supposed to be on my side?"

Molly kissed his cheek and replied, "Hey, it was funny. What can I say? Plus, it is all a moot point. They're married." She turned to Serena, "I'm overjoyed for you both. Darien is a lucky man to have you as his wife. Your mother, Queen Serenity, must be so proud right now."

Mina spoke up, "Well, I still want to throw you a bridal shower soon. I won't be cheated out of that. Darien won't mind. We'll buy you really sexy lingerie. Oh! And, I call dibs on getting to buy her handcuffs!"

"Hey, you do all realize I'm here!" Her uncle said.

"Sorry." Mina murmured.

Darien made eye contact with Mina and just nodded at her and smiled.

Darien then looked at everyone and said, "I purchased that house down the street from Serena's uncle that she loves. We just need to furnish it and move in. Any help we can get moving in would be fabulous."

Kunzite commented, "Serena, just pack your things and set the boxes in the hall. We'll haul them to the house for you."

"Thank you, guys! That would be wonderful."

Darien looked at Luna, "Where would you like to stay now that Serena has moved out?"

Luna replied, "Well, I think I should give the newlyweds some time alone. I'll stay with the generals."

Nephrite said, "Luna, I hate to break it to you, but we aren't letting you go. You won't be ever living with Serena again."

Luna smiled, and her stomach growled.

That night, they all ordered take out for dinner and sat around the apartment, chatting and joking around. The marriage between Serena and Darien was not only a huge step towards their combined future, but also a fulfillment of thousand-year-old promises. They all looked to the future with hope and what a wonderful one it would be.

Raye sat in her room and cried. Her grandfather was really sick, and she was having a hard time accepting it. She had worked really hard the last couple of days to relieve his burden and to set up ways to make his life easier. She laid back on her bed and thought about what Mars had told her. She wondered if she had done enough to reach out for the sword again.

She closed her eyes and felt drawn to the sword. She got up despite her aching muscles and picked up the sword from its resting place, feeling it hum and grow warm. She closed her eyes and opened them up to the same beautiful spot she had been in before.

This time, she immediately sat down to wait for Mars. She tried not to keep track of how much time he was taking to get there, but she failed. About fifteen minutes after she arrived, she heard his voice. She turned her head as he was speaking.

He had been saying, "Actually, it was sixteen minutes and twelve seconds."

She then got up and held out the sword for him to take, "It's your sword, and you can take it anyway. You might as well take it from me now."

He chuckled and took the sword. She noticed it grow sharp the moment he touched it again.

"My grandfather is really sick, and I'm terrified. I've been talking to him about how he's doing and helping around the temple." She felt silly telling him things she was sure he already knew, but she didn't know how else to start.

He swung the sword in huge beautiful looping arcs through the air several times and stopped when the sword was pointing at Raye. "It's a start." He then brought his arm with the sword down to his side, "It's a good start though."

"What should I do next?"

"You acknowledge that I can command you?" He cocked his head to the side and observed her.

"Yes, well. I am in your world using your sword. It seems like what I should do." She replied.

"You were using power from the Silver Crystal, yet you refused to follow Serena. I have the right to be surprised," he replied.

"My power really was from the Silver Crystal?"

"You were foolish to think it was your power brought out by your own abilities. Well, you have lost it now. I admire Serena. She didn't want to appoint a new Sailor Mars, but she finally came to recognize that she was honoring your decision to make Molly the new Sailor Mars."

"What?! How the hell was that honoring my decision?! Like I wanted that Sailor Mars wannabe to take my place!" She was incredulous.

"You didn't want to follow Serena and acknowledge her as the Moon Princess. She let you choose not to be one of her scouts." He calmly told her.

"It isn't like she was a very good Moon Princess! What makes her so special?! I'm smarter and prettier than she is. Why do I have to follow her?!" Raye was furious.

"That's my point. You don't have to follow her. Whomever is acting as Sailor Mars has to follow her, so she released you from that responsibility and got someone else to take your place that wanted it." He then pointed the sword at her, "You're responsible for your own reactions to her. You're not responsible for her behavior, only your own. Your own behavior was what caused you to have to give up being Sailor Mars."

"But she should have…"

"NO!" He yelled, interrupting her. "You can't keep passing off responsibility for your behavior. You are the reason things went as they did."

"How was I supposed to follow her?" She was exasperated.

He shook his head, "You still aren't asking the right questions," he said calmly.

"Fine. What is the right question here?" she crossed her arms.

"The correct question is how are you supposed to follow anyone? You are really too selfish to follow anyone no matter how much they are able to fulfill your ideal." He lowered the sword again and held it at his side.

Raye stood and thought about what he had to say, "I'm not selfish. I have just learned from an early age that, if I don't watch out for myself, no one will."

"Gosh, do you actually listen to yourself? You're a daughter of Mars, not a daughter of that selfish politician who calls himself father when it suits him. You have used that man as an excuse for too long. Grow up and realize that Serena never once ignored your feelings or your needs. She accepted you just as you were and would have forgiven you your cruelty had you merely said sorry." He looked at Raye and looked disgusted.

"But, she wasn't a good leader!" Raye yelled.

"She was fourteen when she got the role, and she was barely eighteen when you gave up on her! She was a child! She was learning, You were supposed to help guide her. She was supposed to be better because you were in her life. Happier, not torn down!" He shook his head.

Raye sat down hard on the grass and looked up at him. She felt like all of the air had been sucked out of her lungs, and she was reeling. "Why? Why her and not me? I want to be seen as special. Why does she get all of the attention?"

"You're missing what was right in front of your face, Raye. No one diminishes you except you. You were special to all of them and especially to Serena. She asked for order and discipline, never blind adoration. Blind adoration was what you wanted."

"But…" she sighed and dropped her face into her hands. "Why doesn't my father love me?"

"Finally, you're asking the right questions. He doesn't love you because he is an ass and a horrible father." Mars held out his hand and helped her to stand up. "You did nothing wrong; you didn't do anything to make you not loveable. If only you had really looked, you would have seen that you and Serena could have helped each other. Her parents only care about appearances just like your father. She feels as loved by her parents as you do by you do by your own father."

"What?! But she lives with both her parents and…."

"And, they are as good at keeping up appearances as your father is. You of all people should know appearances can be deceiving." He looked Raye in the eyes, "I speak the truth. Your jealousy of her is misplaced."

"She has so many other people to love her though." Raye felt she needed to remind him.

"She has opened up her heart and cared for others. That was her choice. Just like becoming selfish was your choice. Others love her because she loved them first. Name one person in her life she didn't love first." He challenged her.

"I really wouldn't be able to gauge who loved who first," Raye said.

"Then I will tell you since I know for sure. Not one. Not Molly, not Amy, not Lita, not Mina, not the generals, not Andrew and not even Darien. Not one. How do you think that really feels for her? Sure, it's nice to be chosen back, but how would that make you feel?"

Raye stood there thinking and couldn't reply. She was reeling from everything Mars had said.

"That's what I thought. You have had enough for now." He handed her back the sword and he said, "Come when the sword calls you again."

All of a sudden, Raye was back in her room in front of where the sword always rested. She set it down and went to the Great Fire. It was the first time she ever sat in front of it to just think rather than to wait for a vision. She sat and tried to process everything, and the heat and light from the fire soothed her.


	37. Next Steps

blueeyeddevil06 thank you for editing this chapter!

Chapter 37 – Next Steps

The following morning, Raye walked into the Arcade not knowing who she wanted to run into, if anyone at all. She had been thinking all night and slept horribly. She looked around and saw Andrew at the counter talking to Jadeite and Darien as they sat there and drank their coffee. She saw Andrew look up, pause, and the other guys turn to follow his gaze.

She sighed and said, "Hi, Andrew. Could I have a chocolate shake? I will be sitting in that booth." She pointed to indicate which one she meant, and she watched him as he nodded. She then took a step to walk towards the booth.

"No nasty cutting remark for us today?" Jadeite questioned. "I'm surprised. Maybe you're off your game today. You look awful. Trouble sleeping?" He smiled, enjoying the fact that she looked exhausted.

"Actually, yes. I had trouble sleeping." She sighed and decided to tell them, "I've been using the sword, and well… it has been an experience for lack of a better way to put it. He hasn't pulled any punches when he has spoken to me."

"He?" Darien asked.

Raye looked around and noticed the only kids there were playing loud video games and couldn't hear them. "Yes, he. Mars, if you want a name. The sword is owned by him, and it brought me to him when I held it long enough." She paused and thought a second. "Andrew, make that shake to go. I don't want to disturb any of you."

Jadeite narrowed his eyes, "Does this mean you're going to back off of Molly? I don't need you to be nice to her, I just need you to not be you."

"Ouch. Yes, I will leave Molly alone. Oh! And Darien, I heard you're engaged to Serena. You must both be happy," she stated.

"Actually, we just eloped Saturday."

"Good, you both belong together." Raye took her shake from Andrew's outstretched arm and exited the arcade.

"She knows Serena won't make her Sailor Mars again, right?" Jadeite asked Darien and Andrew.

They both shrugged.

OoooooO

Darien made it to the biology lab early that day with the hope, for the first time, to talk to Dave, Stephen, and Rick. He walked in and noticed Dave and Rick were already there. He waved at them and headed over to them. "Where's Stephen?"

Rick pointed behind him and said, "He just walked in. Why?"

Darien waited for Stephen to join them and then shocked them first by smiling at them and then by announcing, "I married Serena Saturday." He then held up his left hand and showed his wedding band to them.

David just said, "Ah! Now I know why you're smiling. I don't even have to ask what you were doing last night."

The guys chuckled.

Darien shook his head and replied, "No, you don't." The professor walked in and indicated that everyone should prepare for the lab. As Darien walked away, he said, "Or this morning."

Rick let out a barking laugh, "Did Darien just make a joke? I didn't expect that of him."

Darien looked Rick in the eyes and said, "Who said I was joking?"

OoooooO

Luna looked at the boxes stacking up in the hall outside Serena's room and Nephrite came to stand next to her. He said, "Strange, isn't it? I can't believe she isn't going to be living with us anymore." He then leaned down and picked up a box to load in her uncle's car and walked downstairs.

Luna followed him and made sure not to get underfoot since he couldn't see well around the box. "It won't be the same around here, and I'll miss her."

"Yea." Nephrite said, "But, isn't that what we were reincarnated for? They are together and married now. She is technically Queen, and serving them is ultimately what we're here to do. We're all succeeding in our goals and oaths. It makes me proud."

Luna sat, and her tail twitched, "The girl that was born to be Queen." She mused and then smiled, "You're right. Everything is happening just as it should be."

OoooooO

Wiseman checked his progress as well as his course and was pleased. He was right on schedule, and he loved when things went his way.

Soon, very soon, he would bring Earth under his heel and control the solar system.

Now, he just had to finalize his plans on how to defeat Serenity, Endymion, and the Sailor Scouts.

OoooooO

Molly stood at the top of the stairs looking at the temple. She was sure she was crazy, and that this was a bad idea, but she had a strange dream last night and had mentioned it to Jadeite. The moment she mentioned Mars being in her dream, he looked shocked and told her about what Raye had said in the arcade. So, she was now listening to the advice she received from Mars in a dream. Crazy.

Her comment to Jadeite then was that she wasn't any more likely to have premonitions than Darien was. That earned her a laugh. He then went on to say, "You aren't having dreams of the future. Mars is possibly coming to you and advising you how to handle your sister. It's different."

"It's weird."

"It is, but what is the real problem?" He stroked her cheek and lifted her chin to have her look him in the eyes.

"She's mean." She sighed, "She hates me, apparently I'm her sister, and I'm dating the guy she wants. I don't know how to handle all of that."

"You have handled her without a problem before." Jadeite was confused, why was it a problem now? Had it been before, and he missed it?

"When she came in, yelling and saying awful things, it wasn't a problem. Now... now I want to go and have an actual conversation. That is hard. I'm choosing to engage in conversation with her, and she can choose to be vile again."

"Love, look at it this way. You're choosing to follow what Mars has instructed you to do. Her reaction isn't as important and your decision to listen to him. You're responsible for you."

She had kissed him then headed off to the temple, and now here she was. She sighed and walked over to Raye as she was sweeping. She got her attention by saying, "Hello, are you willing to talk to me for a couple minutes?"

Raye hesitated in her sweeping then resumed and glanced at Molly, "What do you want to talk about?"

"I don't know," Molly admitted. "Mars talked to me in my dream and told me to come to you."

That caused Raye to stop sweeping and invite Molly over to the bench to sit. "What did he tell you?"

"Not a whole lot, I guess. Just that we are daughters of Mars, and while we are bred for war, we aren't bred for war against each other." Molly shrugged. "He then said that everything isn't as I assume. Then he made a weird comment about how I know the truth about Serena's family, and you need to hear it from me." She looked at Raye and said, "There isn't some deep dark secret about her family, so I don't know what he wanted me to tell you."

Raye looked down towards her feet. She knew what Mars was saying, and she was afraid it would expose how abandoned she felt if she told Molly. She sighed and carefully phrased what she wanted to say, "Mars and I got in a disagreement about how much Serena's parents love her. He believes they are all show, and I believe she is the doted-upon-daughter."

Molly knit her brow, "That isn't a secret at all. Her parents only care about how she makes them look. They were so awful to her that Darien asked if she wanted to elope so they wouldn't have to have her parents at the wedding. She was relieved. They knew Serena was getting married, and they weren't even there. Her brother was the only one at the wedding Saturday, and her parents haven't even talked to her since." Molly decided to tell her more, "They knew she was sneaking out of the house since she was fourteen, and they didn't say anything. They didn't feel like taking the time. She would come home from battle wounded, and they never noticed. If they did, yet again, they said nothing. They didn't even know she and Darien were back together until he spoke to her father about wanting to marry her. She was away for a year, and they never went to see her once. They talked to her on the phone just to be able to tell people they knew how she was doing."

Raye's eyes had grown wide, "But, everyone loves Serena."

Molly snorted, "Serena has learned that love is based on what others can get out of her. Darien had to have a conversation with her to assure her that his love for her wasn't conditional recently. Until then, she believed even his love had to be earned daily."

Raye's eyes widened, and she let the truth slip out, "So, she is like me. Her parents don't love her like my father doesn't love me."

Molly said, "And, you have the love of your grandfather just like she has the love of her uncle."

Raye abruptly stood, looked around, and then sat back down. "I didn't know."

"Serena has hidden things that are ugly in her life for a long time. Only recently has she started letting those parts show. She will know how you feel because she has lived it."

"I'm tired of being mad all the time." Raye admitted to Molly.

Molly tried a tactic she hoped wouldn't backfire, "You do realize that, since we're sisters, neither of us is an only child any longer. It's strange to think that we're family."

"I really don't know how I feel about that fact." Raye stated.

Molly stood up, brushed off her skirt, and looked at Raye, "We aren't currently arguing, so I'll be content with that. I should head out. Goodbye." Raye said goodbye too, and Molly headed down the steps.

Molly shook her head. It was strange to think that Mars really did come to her and talk to her in her dream. That had to be the case though. There was no other possible explanation for what just happened.

OooooooO

Serena and Darien had met after he got out of class, and he drove her to go furniture shopping. Once there, they had a happy sales attendant following them with an iPad and quickly typing in everything Serena told her.

Originally, the workday for Tracy had been absolutely maddening. She had asked for today off two weeks ago knowing that she would be working five days straight and didn't want to work a sixth. Her boss had looked her in the eye and promised that she would have the day off. When the schedule had come out, and not coincidentally on the first day of her boss's vacation, she was scheduled for the six straight days. And due to his vacation, she wasn't able to get the schedule fixed. She was grouchy before she even came to work, and then she arrived to find out the other two people scheduled to work that day had called in sick. She was then angry that she would be the only one in the specialty furniture store, and she had to stay late to lock up.

She was furious and trying to hide it until shortly after she introduced herself to Darien and Serena. She had immediately noticed that Serena was sweet and was glad she wouldn't be stuck with mean customers. The rest of her realizations came in rapid succession. They were newlyweds. Darien had some opinions but mostly deferred to whatever Serena wanted. Money was no object, and that combined with the last fact was the most important to Tracy, they had a whole huge house to fill.

She suddenly wanted to kiss her boss and the two people who called in sick. She was alone in this whole store, and the commission on this huge order would go to her.

Serena and Darien had already looked seriously at a dining room table for twelve, several couches and arm chairs, a kitchen table for the two of them, three bedroom sets for their guest rooms, a large desk with three matching bookcases, a desk chair and a table for the entryway. And much to Tracy's joy, they planned on actually purchasing each and every single one, and they were still shopping.

Tracy wanted to do a dance every time Darien insisted to Serena that she pick out her favorite and not to worry about cost.

Long after the purchase was paid for and she had locked up the store for the night, she went home and danced around her living room.

OooooO

Molly had come to absolutely love her lunch dates with Jadeite. She loved to relax halfway through the day and laugh with him. She loved the look in his eyes when she would tell him something new about herself. It made her stomach do flips. Increasingly, she realized that he drew great pleasure from learning more about her and making her smile.

And here she was, sitting and giggling. She was actually giggling. She wondered when she had become so girly. She quickly decided that since she could transform into a superhero and kick youma and alien butt, she was allowed to be girly. It just gave her new layers to her personality she decided.

So, she was currently sitting at a restaurant and giggling as Jadeite arrived and was quoting Much Ado About Nothing to her loudly, drawing everyone's attention during the first line. As he made his way over from across the room, he had started with, "I do love nothing in the world so well as you - is not that strange?" That was when she started giggling. Then he winked and said, "I will live in thy heart, die in thy lap, and be buried in thy eyes."

Molly shook her head at him smiling and said, "I didn't realize I was dating Benedick. Does that make me Beatrice?" She then kissed his cheek, "You're a strange man."

"Oh, my dear Beatrice, 'Let me be that I am and seek not to alter me.'" Jadeite quoted in reply.

"Oh no!" She laughed, "Now you're the villain."

"Yes, but you have to admit Don John had a great line there." Jadeite said.

"It's Shakespeare. There are a lot of good lines throughout the whole play. But yes, it is a great one. What inspired you to start quoting it?" She was really curious.

"Well, one certain line had popped into my head, and it got me to thinking about the play as a whole."

"So, which one of the lines was it that came to mind?"

"None of the ones I have quoted to you." He paused and grew quiet.

Molly grew concerned, "Since Benedick and Beatrice are arguing through much of the play, should I be concerned?" She quickly added, "Well, there was that and Hero having to fake her death because Don John slandered her." Her brow had drawn together, and her lips were pinched.

Jadeite looked startled, "No! Nothing like that at all. The line that popped into my head was…" Here, he sighed and grew serious, "I don't want you to feel pressured, okay?"

Now, Molly just looked puzzled, "Okay."

Jadeite shook his head and said, "You can't really agree to that without knowing what I am going to say." He took a deep breath and quoted, "When I said I would die a bachelor, I did not think I should live till I were married."

Molly teared up, "You're actually thinking of marriage? Wait, I didn't read that wrong, did I?"

"No, you did not." He smiled at her, took her hand, and kissed it.

"So, you thought you would die young?" She asked.

Jadeite gave a short laugh, "You do realize that I died young one thousand years ago, and I have already died once in this lifetime. Serena brought us all back from death."

Molly looked at him and decided to push for more, "Do you really want to marry me, or are you just thinking about the possibility of marrying me in the future?"

"Molly, I have just been struggling to come up with the perfect way to ask you. We haven't dated long, but you are it for me."

Molly got tears in her eyes and said, "Then ask me now if you really mean it."

Jadeite looked into her eyes and found what he was looking for. Determination and love. "Molly, you are amazing, strong, bright and perfect. You're everything I have always wanted but didn't think I deserved. Marry me, please. Marry me, and spend the rest of our lives astounding me with your strength and intelligence."

Molly nodded and sniffled, "Yes. Yes, I will marry you. I love you and want to spend the rest of my life with you."

Jadeite quoted, "Peace. I will stop your mouth." He then leaned in and kissed her.


	38. Tension

blueeyeddevil06 thank you for editing this chapter!

Chapter 38 – Tension

Raye stood in front of Mars, and the sword was still in her hand. She had just arrived, and she hadn't waited for very long. Once he stood in front of her, Raye asked, "thirty-seven seconds?"

"Actually, it was thirty-nine," he countered.

She smiled and handed him his sword. "You sent Molly to see me. That was unexpected."

"You mean your sister, and yes, I sent her." He looked questioningly at her, "And, how did that go?"

She gave a wry smile, "As if you don't already know." She then sighed, "You were right about Serena, Molly saw things I never did." Mars opened his mouth to speak, and Raye held up her hand, "You're about to say that was because I was too self-absorbed to look."

Mars shook his head, "Actually, I was about to say that you were afraid to look. You didn't want to see someone who was so different than you, experiencing the love of her parents. That would have reinforced to you that it was your fault. That, and you are self-absorbed." He admitted.

"Why send Molly? She has everything I want. She's Sailor Mars, she has Jadeite, and she has the love of her parents." She was genuinely curious.

"You were Sailor Mars, and it didn't make you happy. Why do you want it now?"

"Who am I if I'm not Sailor Mars?" Raye was truly wondering.

"You are Raye. Isn't that enough?" Mars countered to her.

"There's nothing special about me now though. I was different and powerful, and now I 'm nothing!" She was truly distraught.

Mars shook his head, "You are Raye, and that is enough."

She scoffed and turned her head to hide her tears.

"You can't hide from me. I know you're crying. Look at me, Daughter of Mars," she turned her head and let him see the tears he knew were there. "I am telling you that is enough. You are enough."

"I just want to be special to someone, anyone."

"You are special to people, and you don't even know it. Be kind. Be kind to others, and let them in. You are the sister to a woman who wished for one every birthday when she blew out her candles. You are the granddaughter to a man who never knew the love of his own son. You are the strength to someone who never knew how to stand up for herself. You are so much more than that too. You could be so much to so many people if you only let yourself be. Look at the needs of others and realize that you already possess everything you need inside you. You are enough just the way you are."

Mars dropped the sword as she threw herself into his arms and wept.

Wiseman drew closer and closer to Earth, and he was growing excited. He was a little more than a month away from Earth, and he was desperate to obtain the Silver Crystal. He looked over the reports that Diamond had sent to him, and he smiled. Serenity was young and inexperienced; he would exploit that.

The updates that he had last received from Diamond outlined the powers of everyone, and he smiled. He planned exactly how he intended to defeat Serenity, Endymion, and each Sailor Scout.

He knew which youma would best work against them and how he planned to launch his attack. Now he just had to wait for the perfect opportunity to snatch the Silver Crystal. He smiled.

Emerald had finished up checking all of the worksites for the day. She was thrilled with the progress. It didn't surprise her that she wasn't the only one who wanted to erase Diamond's mark from their lives. She then decided on a side project after she heard Sapphire commenting about his need to know more about Wiseman but not really having the time to spend going through their system at the moment.

Now she was sitting in front of the computer and digging through the reports she had found. Diamond treated Wiseman like he had everyone else she realized. He had been more concerned with his own comfort and wants and hadn't felt the need to put in any effort when it came to Wiseman. It seemed Diamond had updated him out of obligation. His power had come from Wiseman, and he had only sent updates as a token gesture to appear obedient.

She was growing happier and happier with each report to Wiseman that she read. After she had combed through every one, she spent two hours condensing the important information into one document for Sapphire. She actually squealed with glee when she had finished reading the reports and realized Diamond had never bothered to tell Wiseman about the generals' reappearance.

She sighed, leaned back, and stretched her arms and neck. She then looked at the clock and saw how late it was. It was too late in the evening to show Sapphire what she had found. She sent him a message and then got ready for bed. She would update him at breakfast. She knew this information would make him really happy.

That next morning, Emerald was sitting at breakfast holding her file and waiting for Sapphire. He walked in and smiled at her. "Sister, I'm sorry I am running late! It's good to see you and to eat breakfast with you. Your message indicated that you wanted to tell me something."

"A king is allowed to be five minutes late. That's practically on time, I know you're busy. I wanted to show you this," she handed him the file. "You can read it later; I will give you a quick summary of what is in it while we eat."

They both began to eat their breakfast, and she laid out what she had found. "So, you see, Diamond never told Wiseman about the generals. He will be completely taken by surprise by them, and he won't know that we are on Serena's side too."

"You call her Serena now." He then smiled and said, "I'm thrilled to hear that Wiseman doesn't know about the generals. That's a huge advantage. They will all be ecstatic to hear that when you update them."

"Me? I will update them?" She had handed him the file so that Sapphire could show it to them.

"You're the one who did all of the work. Did you not want to tell them?" Sapphire was truly puzzled.

"No… I just don't think they have included me in their group. I know you were invited in, so I thought you would tell them."

"You're my sister, and I can't handle all diplomatic missions. Get used to it Emerald, I will come to rely on you a lot in the future." He then smiled at her; he was proud. He had hated how their father and Diamond had torn her down. He knew it would take a while to help build her back up.

"If you're sure they won't mind me approaching them, I will show them what I have found. Keep that report. I will print out a new one for them." She was acutely aware that her being proactive had resulted in Sapphire's pride in her. She could see it in his eyes.

They finished breakfast and Sapphire spoke again, "Keep up the great work you're doing, and if you have the inspiration to tackle any other project, go for it. I'll make sure everyone knows you are to have the same access I do."

"Thank you, brother. I will not let you down." She beamed.

Before she left to go to the worksites that day, she contacted Serena and let her know she had an update for her, and they agreed to meet the next morning. Emerald was relieved that she seemed genuinely glad to hear from her.

Serena had been excited when she saw who was on the phone call. She was glad Emerald was getting involved, and she would be able to spend more time with her. Emerald had risked her own life to help Serena. Even if she claimed it was just to keep Diamond from getting what he wanted, Serena was grateful. She knew she had her own issues with her parents, but she was grateful for them when she compared them to Diamond.

She then double checked she had everything she wanted and made her way out of the apartment. She was meeting Mina to go shopping, and she had Darien's credit card. She knew he received text notifications from it every time something was purchased. She smirked.

Mina was waiting for Serena outside the first lingerie shop of the day. "You ready to get started?"

Serena laughed, "Yes. And Mina, this was brilliant! I can't wait to see his face when he gets home."

"Pshh! He will be calling you before the day is through. We just have to plan what you're going to say to him."

Serena smiled and said, "Oh, I plan on ignoring his phone call the first few times just to drive him wild."

"This is going to be so funny! I'm curious how he will react when he keeps getting updates that you are buying lingerie all day. I think we should save the store called 'Dirty Secret' for last."

Serena said, "I keep picturing him in class reading the notifications. Should we take bets on when the first phone call comes in?"

They went back to laughing and set off to go to the first store. Serena couldn't wait to show him what she bought.

Darien was halfway through his first lecture when his cell phone vibrated. He glanced at it and almost choked. Serena was shopping for lingerie at the moment, and he couldn't help but picture her smirking at him wearing something red and incredibly sexy. He was happy she finally felt comfortable using his credit card. They were just waiting for hers to arrive in the mail.

Thirty minutes later, he received another text notification, and he froze. She had just purchased more lingerie. Shit. How was he going to concentrate on the remainder of the lecture? He was turned on now. He lifted his head from looking at his phone and tried to concentrate and take notes for the last ten minutes.

He rushed to his next class and sat in the front row like always then rubbed his hands over his face. He was trying to mentally prepare for his next class. He kept picturing Serena in different garments looking sexy and wanton. Damn. He was getting hard.

It was twenty minutes into his class when he heard his phone vibrate, and he mentally groaned. He snuck a look at his phone and damn near lost his mind. She had just bought more. Three stores with increasingly sexy names. He decided to send her a quick text, "Having fun?" was all it said.

At the end of class, he quickly pulled out his phone and realized he hadn't received a reply. He quickly walked out of the building and called her. Serena's phone rang and went to voicemail, so he left a message, "Hey, babe. It looks like you're having fun shopping. Give me a call when you get a chance. I have some time before my next class." He hung up and waited. He didn't get a call back before he had to go to his Biology Lab.

Five minutes into class, he cursed under his breath when he heard his phone vibrate. He told his partner, David, to do the next part and looked at his phone. Now he was officially losing his mind. Four. Four stores of lingerie, and he was sitting here in class trying to hide his reaction. If David's laughter was any indication, he was not succeeding.

"You okay there?" David asked.

What could Darien say to that? He didn't want to give David the mental picture he currently had running though his mind. "I have just married Serena, and I'm stuck in class. I could be better."

"So, you won't tell me what the sexting message you just received says?"

"No." Was Darien's reply before he insisted that they get back to the lab work.

Darien froze three minutes before the end of lab when his text notification went off again. David just started chuckling and asked, "You going to look at your message?"

"Nope." For Darien's own sanity, he didn't look at the notification from the newest store. He rubbed his hands over his face and sighed. He was going to have to change the settings for notifications on his credit card soon.

Class was finally dismissed, and Darien actually ran out the door, checking his phone. The moment he did, he went to call Serena again.

Ring. Ring.

"Hello?"

"Finally! I tried calling you earlier. My classes are done for the day. Meet me back at the apartment." Darien demanded.

"Whatever for?" Serena asked coyly.

"You know what for. I'm going to make you as crazy as you have made me, and then we're going have sex until you can't walk anymore." Darien had just gotten in his car and slammed the door. "You have no idea how hard I am right now. You'll find out soon though."

"I'm almost home, my love. I'll be waiting." She promised him.

Darien slammed his foot down on the gas pedal as the light turned green.


	39. Sisters

blueeyeddevil06 thank you for editing my story!

Chapter 39 – Sisters

Raye laid there on her bed long after her grandfather had gone to sleep for the evening and thought about everything Mars had told her. He was right. Being Sailor Mars didn't make her happy. She stood up and called Mina. She hoped it wasn't too late, by either sense of the definition.

"Hello," Mina said, sounding wary and cautious when talking to Raye.

"I'm sorry it's late in the evening; can I please have Molly's phone number? I promise I won't say anything mean to her." Raye tried to convey that she was being truthful.

Mina sighed and said, "Yes, I will text it to you. Wait a second." Raye waited and heard the text come through. Mina continued, "I'm trusting you in this. Please don't let me down."

Raye paused and asked, "What have I done lately that makes you trust me?" She was really curious.

"Absolutely nothing. You matter to me, and I want to be able to trust you. Just try to look at it as wishful thinking."

"Thank you." Raye said and then added, "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." Mina then hung up the phone.

Raye called Molly, and she answered quickly. "Hello, Raye."

"Hello, Molly. Um…. Gosh, it's late."

"You're the one who called me," Molly pointed out.

"Yes, but I was wanting to meet up with you because I really needed to talk. You're my sister, so I'm hoping that gives me more leeway with you after being such a bitch to everyone. Family forgives. Right?" Raye was hoping Molly would agree.

"Give me time to get dressed and meet you at the temple. It's late, so I'll get a ride over. Do you mind if Jadeite comes with me and waits in another room?" Molly wasn't going to hide her engagement to Jadeite even if it would make things easier with Raye.

"Um. Yea. I mean, no. That is, I mean it's fine with me."

"Great, I'll see you soon." Molly said goodbye and hung up.

Jadeite answered his phone on the first ring. Molly just smiled and said, "You weren't sleeping, I take it."

"Nope, and I'm always excited to get a phone call from my fiancé. I love that word." He smiled and said, "You don't normally call this late though."

"I don't, and I have a favor to ask. I know I'm Sailor Mars and I can protect myself, but I needed to go out tonight and was hoping you would drive me. I don't want someone trying to attack me only for me to end up killing them by mistake."

"I'm alright with the killing part, but I get what you're saying. Where do you need me to drive you?" He asked while he pulled out clothes to wear.

"I would rather tell you when you get here. Is that okay?"

"As long as you aren't asking to be driven to a boyfriend's house it's okay." He joked.

"As if any other man could impress me in the slightest when I have you." She told him.

"Damn right!" Jadeite said, puffing out his chest. Shit, did she make him feel like a man. She really was perfect.

He arrived at her house and she hopped in the car. Without any preamble, she said, "So, I got a strange call tonight. Raye called." Jadeite's head whipped to look at her, and he slammed on the breaks. "Easy there, tiger. Pay attention to the road. Anyway, Raye called and asked to talk. She called me sister and family, talked about her needing forgiveness, and referred to herself as a bitch. I told her I would meet up with her."

Jadeite drove in silence for a couple of minutes processing what she said. "You really are incredible. The first tiny indication she gives you that she wants to have a relationship with you, and you're on your way to meet her immediately." He sighed.

Molly listed and said, "You aren't wrong. The biggest reason I wanted you to drive me over was in case it went horribly. I knew it was you that I would need afterwards. That was the real reason I called."

Jadeite pulled over in front of the temple, put his car in park, and looked at her, "I will always be there for you no matter what." He took a shuddering breath and said, "Sheesh, what you just said...you have no clue how much that means to me. When you say things like that, it makes me feel like a king."

Molly kissed him, pulled back, and looked into his eyes, "It's you and me together in everything, don't ever forget that."

"Forever. I won't forget." He promised, then got out and opened her door for her. "Where would you like me to wait?"

"That's up to you. It's a nice night. I could find you out wandering the temple if you would like, or I could just text you when I'm done."

"Text me, and I will meet you at the Torii gate." He said and walked with her up the stairs.

When they arrived at the top, Raye was waiting there and looking nervous when she saw Molly. Jadeite shifted and mumbled that he would wait for her text then walked off.

Raye indicated that Molly should follow her, and they made their way to her room. They both sat down and got as comfortable as they could.

"Thank you for coming out here when I was the one who called and wanted to talk." Raye didn't know how to jump into what she wanted to say. "I um… You know I have been talking to Mars?" Molly nodded. "Yea well, he made me think about some things." She sighed, "Can I just ask why you want to be Sailor Mars?"

"Are you asking in an attempt to trip me up because you want to take my place?" Molly had decided to just be frank. She didn't think sugar coating anything tonight would help.

"You misunderstand me. I don't know why I wanted to be Sailor Mars again so badly. I was trying to understand something Mars said to me."

Molly paused and thought about Serena. She knew she couldn't be tricked into bringing Raye back again as her Scout. "I want to serve my friend who has been there for me longer than I can remember. She has been brave and faced things even when she was terrified. Now I have the chance to stand by her side and support her. The powers are also pretty cool too."

Raye nodded, "I just want the powers. They make me feel different. Special. The problem is that Mars is right, I don't want the rest. I struggle to serve anyone, and I would have to serve Serena. There's nothing I truly object to with serving Serena other than the fact that I just don't want to follow anyone." She sighed, "I don't know if I'm making sense."

Molly shook her head, "But, being Sailor Mars means protecting Serena, not serving her. I spoke up in the first meeting I was in. They all listened to me, and I never felt like a servant."

Ray sighed, "I guess my feelings about it are just different. I have thought about it, and I just want to be their friend. I don't want to have to be led by anyone. Sorry if that sounds bad, but it's honest."

"No, it doesn't. What sounded bad was what you were saying to all of us before. It's your friendship Serena despaired of losing." Molly laughed, "She was so sure making me Sailor Mars would end any chance of reconciliation between you two that she hesitated to give me the brooch. And now, it turns out that, by you not being Sailor Mars, you are more interested in being her friend."

"I said some horrible things. I doubt friendship is really in the cards."

"I'm talking to you, and you were really awful to me. The moment you called me sister I knew I would come over to talk to you. Give us all the chance to decide how we feel, and don't decide for us."

"I'm sorry for what I said. I was angry and hurt. It isn't an excuse, but I will say that you stepping in the way you did hit every insecurity I possess. It stung to be replaced so easily and by a better version. I haven't ever really felt good enough for anyone." Raye admitted.

"Just because you felt that way didn't make it true. Think about it logically. Serena may be kind to everyone, but think about who she actually allows into her life. She is incredibly forgiving once you become part of her circle of friends, but it is a finite group. She doesn't allow just anyone truly into her life. She didn't replace you; she replaced Sailor Mars. That might not sound like a big difference, but it is."

"No, you're right. There is a difference there." Here, Raye paused. "We are sisters, right? I mean we fight like sisters, but I want to get along. I'm sorry for what I said to you."

"I need to tell you something, and you need to tell me if you still want to be sisters after you hear it. Okay?"

"Okay," Raye replied, sounding curious.

Molly took a deep breath and launched into it, "It's Jadeite. I know you had a relationship one thousand years ago, but that is over now. You will not try to claim he is yours, and you will not complain when we are together. I don't care if you try to flirt. I'm secure enough to know he isn't interested in you. It isn't about me being better than you, it is about us being amazing together. I love him, and he asked me to marry him. We are engaged, and I'm incredibly happy." Molly then took another deep breath. It had all come out in a rush of emotion.

Raye's eyes were wide. "Wow. I wasn't expecting that. I meant the engagement part. Not that…" She paused and tried again, "That's fabulous. I'm glad you're happy together, and I won't cause a problem. He is incredibly cute, but I don't even remember our past. I wanted to date him because I thought that was my right. I'm not entitled to anyone or anything. I'm going to actually work for what I want now and not expect it to be handed to me, and I don't want him." She thought for a moment then smiled and said, "I like the idea of him being my brother."

Molly smiled at Raye and started to tear up.

Raye was puzzled and asked, "What did I say wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm just happy to have a sister finally." She wiped her eyes, "My mother miscarried three times after she had me. I had asked for a sister when I was little and didn't understand what had happened to her. She cried and never spoke about it again. It was hard because how are you supposed to express that you're hurting too when you are just a child? I lost siblings I never got to meet. I had always hoped for a sister, but I despaired that I would never get one."

"My mom died when I was a baby, and my dad never wanted to remarry. I never even had the hope of a sister. I don't know how to be one." Raye admitted.

Molly shrugged, "Neither do I. Fighting over a boy sounds about right to me though." She winked. "The rest we'll just figure out. We'll do what works for us."

"Sounds like a good plan." Raye got really nervous, and her hands got sweaty. "Um, if you would like me to come to any of your training sessions, I can. I um, know about the powers you have and might be able to suggest some tips. That is only if you want me to."

"I would love that," Molly beamed.

Raye looked shocked and then smiled, "Great! Just let me know when, and I will be there."

Molly texted Jadeite and told him to meet her at Raye's room. A short time later, there was a knock on the door.

Raye let him in and was smiling, "I hear congratulations are in order. You're a lucky guy to get Molly to marry you."

"Don't I know it," was his reply. He looked at Molly, and he was obviously puzzled by Raye's behavior. "I managed to walk myself into a proposal by quoting Much Ado About Nothing to her."

"What is that?" Raye knew she was missing something.

"Shakespeare." Molly supplied and smiled at Raye. "It was so romantic." She got a dreamy look in her eyes.

Raye chuckled, "You two are perfect for each other."

"That we are!" Jadeite said.

Raye looked at Jadeite and stated, "I apologized to Molly, and she has been gracious enough through it all to even call me sister. I wanted to apologize to you too. I was awful to you both, and I was completely in the wrong. I can't say I won't upset her again, but I can say that I won't be intentionally cruel. We are sisters after all, and we agreed they fight sometimes."

Jadeite looked at Molly and spoke to Raye, "Be the sister she has always wanted, and I can accept your apology."

"Deal."

Molly yawned, "It's late, and I'm tired. Raye, are you going to talk to Serena?"

"I would like to. Do you think she will agree to talk to me?" Raye grew nervous again.

Molly nodded, "I'll let her know that you want to talk in the morning. Why don't the three of us meet for lunch at the arcade?"

Raye agreed to meet Molly and Serena for lunch and said her goodbyes to Jadeite and Molly.

Jadeite drove home his amazing fiancé and kissed her when he arrived at her house, "Goodnight, my love. Thank you for calling me to drive you."

"Goodnight, handsome. Sorry about canceling our standing lunch date without asking you."

He shook his head, "I want this for you. I want you and Raye to get along. Go, and have a great time."

They kissed again before she headed inside and went to bed.


	40. Calm Before the Storm

blueeyeddevil06 thank you so much for going through this and editing the whole thing!

Thank you for Reading

Chapter 40 – Calm Before the Storm

Serena was nervous while she was getting ready to go meet Molly and Raye for lunch. She finished the last coat of mascara as she turned to Darien and said, "Well, how do I look?"

"You look beautiful. I don't get why you just spent the last half hour on your makeup when you don't need to wear any."

Serena wrapped her arms around Darien and kissed him on the cheek. "Unlike when I turn into Sailor Moon, I need to take time when I am going into battle."

Darien was confused. "You plan on fighting Raye?"

"In a way, yes. I'm married to my reincarnated lover, I'm young, and my makeup and outfit are flawless. There are no cracks in my armor for her to get to." She picked up her purse and made her way to the door.

"Knock 'em dead."

She winked at him and said, "See, you get it. I love you! I will text you when you get out of class and let you know how it went."

Darien stopped her with a kiss, grabbed her ass, and pressed her up against himself. He then walked her towards the wall and pressed his body up against her trapping her. "Do keep in mind that I'm not just a past lover. I'm a current lover too." He then started to pull away, but before he retreated too far, he slid his hands over her breasts and pinched her nipples. "Say it."

She moaned and in a breathy voice said, "You're my lover."

"Good. Don't you forget it."

"How could I when you make me feel so good?" She reached down and slid her hand over the outside of his pants, caressing his hardness.

"Tease." He moaned.

She gave a short laugh, "Like you should talk." She kissed him and said goodbye. "Oh, and you will be finishing what you started later."

"Deal." She left the apartment, and he sighed. Great. Now he was going to have a hard-on in class.

Serena arrived at lunch, and Molly was sitting next to Raye who looked nervous. Serena sat down and smiled at them both, taking a sip of her water so she could collect herself. She wanted to cry, but she needed to stay strong. Raye looked at her like she did years ago, and it made her long for the old days with her.

Raye took a deep breath, and she looked hesitantly at Serena. "Thank you for agreeing to meet with me."

Serena sighed, "Oh, don't be like that." Raye paled and Serena went on to say, "Of course, I'm here. We fought. People fight. It happens and I desperately want to be your friend again. If that isn't where we are heading, then tell me now before I waste my time."

Raye gave a small smile and said, "Yes, I want to be friends again."

"Good! Then how have you been?" Serena smiled at her and looked expectant.

Raye's mouth dropped open and said, "Um. Shouldn't I apologize to you first before you agree to be my friend? I was awful to you all!"

Serena shrugged, "Yes, you were. Don't forget that you convinced Molly to not only forgive you but also to vouch for you to get me to lunch. Molly has always been protective of me, and she wouldn't have done any of that if she thought you didn't mean it." Serena turned to Molly. "Remember back in, gosh, was it second grade? Remember that girl who told everyone that I was stupid, and you shoved her down on the playground? When the teacher tried to make you apologize, you told her to 'back off because the girl started it.'" Serena chuckled, "If she trusts that you are sorry, then I trust you."

"I am. I was so horrible! I miss being friends with you all, and I want to be back in your lives. I'm not asking to come back and become Sailor Mars. I realized that I'm not really cut out for it."

Serena beamed. "I'm so glad to have you back!"

The girls caught up after that and chatted about their lives. About 25 minutes in, Serena asked Raye about her grandfather, and she burst into tears. Molly and Serena looked shocked. They gathered around Raye and held her, and she cried even harder.

Through her tears, Raye was able to get out that he was dying, and she was scared and didn't know what to do. Molly and Serena then assured her they would be there for her and support her in whatever she needed. Serena even said she would stop by and chat with him more often to force him to take more breaks.

By the time Raye left, her heart was full, and she lamented over the lost time with her friends. She rushed home and pulled out the sword, begging it, "Mars, please. Please bring me there to talk to you."

"You called? I wasn't planning on bringing you back. Oh, and look at the sword." He smiled at her.

Raye looked down and the sword was sharp. She smiled too. She then looked at Mars and said, "I'm just so happy to see that!" She took a breath. "Thank you, and you were right about everything. I talked to Molly last night and Serena today. And with Serena, you were so spot on about her. She does look out for me in ways I didn't even know or ask for. She's going to spend time with my grandfather to help me, and I didn't even have to ask. She just knows what I need. You have given me so much, and I wanted to say thank you!"

Mars smiled, "My dear girl, you're welcome. Hold onto the sword, and keep it close. You are meant for greatness, and you are finally back on your path. I'm proud of you."

She rushed forward and hugged Mars then stepped back. She blinked, and she was back in her room and overflowing with happiness.

"Team meeting tonight," Serena said as she walked through the front door of her uncle's house. "We need a name for our group. Hmm. Well, we will come up with one later. Emerald brought me a bunch of information this morning. She dug into the correspondence that Diamond sent. Spoiler alert: Wiseman doesn't know about you boys being back."

Zoisite said, "Hello to you too!"

Serena rolled her eyes and said, "This is great news! Come on, get excited. We knew we had Sapphire and Emerald to go against Wiseman, but they don't have powers. Now, he doesn't know about you all either!" She stuck her tongue out at him and turned to Jadeite. "When are you getting Molly an engagement ring?"

"Wow, huge pivot there!" Jadeite shook his head and said, "We go looking for one tomorrow night."

"You are taking her?"

"Well, I proposed before I got her one, so it's only fair I let her have her pick now."

Serena got a sappy look on her face and said, "It was so romantic. She's a lucky girl."

"I'm glad you both think so. I don't see it, but it works in my favor, so I'll let it go."

Serena walked to the door, "Okay, so I'm going to head out. Meeting at my place at seven. Make sure to let everyone know about it. Bring Uncle and Luna too."

After she closed the door, Zoisite said, "She's going to be so mad when she sees how fat Luna is."

That night, they all met at the apartment and settled down to discuss Wiseman and their battle strategy. They all agreed to start an intensive training schedule, so they all were used to each other. Raye even came to help give Molly tips, and then she stayed as an observer to give general, helpful critiques.

And so, a month passed, and the whole group was in the best shape and fighting ability of their lives. Serena looked and her heart overflowed every time she thought about what she had gained having each and every one of them in her life.

Meanwhile, Raye's grandfather continued to get worse, and Serena was there so many days people thought she worked there. In a way, she did. She was always stepping in and helping out when it looked to her that Raye's grandfather was doing too much.

Raye was grateful to Serena, and over the month, they began getting close. Raye realized she could rely on Serena in a way she couldn't with others. Serena always had her back, and the last of Raye's pain floated away.

It came to be that Emerald, Sapphire, and the whole group were meeting on a Friday night when Emerald announced. "Wiseman isn't even a day away. We could be dealing with him as early as tomorrow. He's already been in contact with us, and we're pretending to be on his side for now. Once he arrives, he will realize we aren't infected with dark energy. We'll get a warning to you when he arrives on Earth."

Serena and Darien held each other on a Friday night long after the others had left.

Darien whispered, "It will be okay."

"Oh gosh! Of course, it will be. I'm not afraid, because I have you by my side. I'm just not looking forward to the fighting again."

Darien kissed her and said, "Have I told you how much I love you lately?"

Everyone went to bed early that night. They knew they would all need the rest for the coming battle.

=Please check out my one shot She Never Cried In Front Of Me

= I am getting close to finishing up this story. I have decided I have enough ideas to start a sequel. Thank you to all of you who encouraged me to write one. There won't be an enemy for them to go against this time. I do have things I want to write about with Sammy, Raye, Serena (how she fits in at Univ. events), Sapphire, and more. I have quite a list, and I already have a general outline for the story. There will be a about a week break in between the two stories. I haven't seen my parents since before Covid-19 hit, and we are going to spend some time together. YEA!


	41. The Big Bad

blueeyeddevil06 thank you so much for going through this and editing the whole thing!

Chapter 41 – The Big Bad

Sapphire and Emerald sat in the dining room eating breakfast when the alert came in that Wiseman had arrived. "So sister, it's time for you to alert Serena and for me to tell Wiseman that we want nothing to do with him"

"I would be delighted, brother." She quickly finished eating and left the dining room along with her brother. She was aware that the time for the final battle had come.

OoooooO

Wiseman appeared before them all in the park. Serena really wondered what it was about the park that attracted everything evil to it.

They all stood ready for battle, and Darien noticed that they were perfectly protecting Serena and giving her space to fight. The Generals were waiting just out of sight in order to maintain the advantage of surprising Wiseman. All of the training they had done made sure they acted seamlessly, and he was glad it was all working according to plan. The Silver Crystal would be the target, and they were assuring it wouldn't fall into enemy hands.

Wiseman spoke with calm confidence, "Hand over the Silver Crystal, and I won't destroy you all. Everyone will be spared. That is, everyone except Sapphire and Emerald." He turned to look at them and sneered, "I gave you power, and you threw it away. Now you're both weak and pathetic! I will kill you both for forsaking me."

Sapphire and Emerald remained in position. Serena was protecting them with a shield, and they both stood there ready to use the Mercury computer in order to free up Sailor Mercury to join the fight. Emerald knew she didn't really need to be there, but anytime her brother was in danger, she had vowed she would be there to support him. Family. That was a word that had taken on a whole new meaning to her in the last couple of months.

Serena began laughing, and it drew everyone's attention. Sspecially Wiseman. "You should have stayed home. You can't defeat us, and you will never have the Silver Crystal. Attack!"

All five Sailor Scouts launched an attack simultaneously, and Wiseman was knocked back. He growled in anger. He launched himself back up and focused his power on attacking Sailor Moon, and she was knocked into a tree. Tuxedo Mask was scooping her up and moving her to safety quickly. The rest of the Sailor Scouts continued to attack as Sapphire was yelling out information on Wiseman.

"I am so sorry that I didn't get there in time," Tuxedo Mask said to Sailor Moon. His back was to Wiseman who used the distraction to launch another attack at Sailor Moon. They were both hit by the blast, and Sailor Moon's shield dropped around Sapphire and Emerald.

Emerald saw it drop and knew that the next attack would be aimed at Sapphire. She jumped in front of him just as Wiseman lashed out and launched an attack. As the attack hit her square in the chest, she smiled and then fell to the ground, dead.

Sailor Moon screamed and managed to get the shield back up around Sapphire and a lifeless Emerald. The generals joined the fight, and she noticed Wiseman's shock.

Her grief at the death of Emerald was almost overwhelming, and she used that feeling to draw on the power of the Silver Crystal. As the scouts, generals, and Tuxedo Mask fought around her, she concentrated on collecting her power and pulled off her tiara. She waited until she saw that everyone had weakened Wiseman. Sapphire had managed to find his weak spot with the Mercury Computer.

Serena stood there and waited, and she saw her opening. She whispered the command and sent her tiara flying straight into Wiseman's chest. She watched as it reached him while his focus was on an attack coming from Zoisite, and it hit his chest, destroying him.

The moment he was no longer a threat, Serena launched herself towards Sapphire and Emerald. She dropped to her knees when she reached Emerald and wept over her body. "She wanted so badly to protect the one person who encouraged her and cared for her." Serena wiped her eyes. "I hate that it meant it ended in her death. She would be happy though to know you're safe, Sapphire."

He stood there stunned. She was dead. "She was the only family I had that I cared about since the death of Ruby. I don't know what to do now that I'm alone."

"You aren't alone, you have all of us. I know it isn't the same, but rely on us and we will try to help you," Darien said. After all, he knew what it was like to not have any family.

"Thank you." Sapphire looked at them all and gathered up Emerald. "I will let you know when her funeral is going to be."

Raye spoke up from the tree line, "I would like to be there too. She was brave, and that should be honored by us all."

Sapphire nodded, "I would be glad to have you there. I didn't realize you had come."

"I heard the attack, and I hid nearby. I didn't want to distract anyone by showing up. I just wanted to be there to see you all succeed. What you didn't see was that she smiled right before she died. I saw it. She knew she had kept you safe." Raye let a tear drop.

Sapphire gave her a weak smile, "I'm glad you were there to see her final smile, and let me know. I appreciate it."

Raye nodded, "I'm glad I was there, because you needed to know." She then walked over to Serena. "Your power was incredible and has really grown. It was amazing to witness." She then hugged her.

Serena wondered if Raye knew how much she needed the hug right now. She was reeling from Emerald's death and wanted the comfort. Raye whispered into her ear, "I know. I know you're hurting, and you don't want to detract from Sapphire. It wasn't your fault the shield dropped. You received a powerful blast, and Emerald knew the risk."

Serena let a few tears fall on Raye's shoulder. "Thank you." She looked around at everyone who had fought beside her, and she knew they would be together well into the future.

= Sequel will be coming soon. Thank you for reading!


	42. Preview of Sequel

Here is the first chapter of my promised Sequel to Her Time to Shine. I hope you enjoy it and thank you for reading it.

Chapter One - Jasper

Andrew wiped down the counter as it was after closing time at the Arcade and he looked over at the guy sitting in the booth towards the back, again. He was still there and he had been sitting there for three hours, he knew it was time to ask him to leave so he could close up.

Andrew sighed and walked over to the booth, "The Arcade closed as of fifteen minutes ago. I have a couple of things to clean up if you want to finish your coffee, but then you will need to head out."

The guy just smiled at him and said, "Andrew, we need to talk. It is really important though that we talk in private and it needs to stay between us. Why don't you finish up and then join me back here."

Andrew stared at him not knowing if he was willing to stay and speak to the stranger. He pulled out his cell phone and decided to text Jadeite, he figured Darien would be busy. As he held his phone out to text him the stranger said, "Jadeite won't know who I am either, I am not ready for him to know I am here yet, so please don't text him."

"How do you know who I was about to text?" Andrew was really worried now, he wondered if any of the aliens were able to read minds. Surely that wasn't out of the realm of possibilities with everything else he had seen.

"I actually know you really well." The stranger sighed and said, "You, Jadeite and Darien are close. Darien just got married so you wouldn't bother trying to text him this late at night. Who else would you text?"

"How do you know who I am closest too?" Andrew really wanted to know what was going on and the stranger didn't seem threatening so he sat down.

"Good. Well Uncle Andrew my name is Jasper, and this is even stranger than what I prepared myself for."

He was about to say more when Andrew interrupted, "You are older than my sister so there is no way I am your uncle. Stop this and explain yourself or I will call the police." Andrew had instantly grown suspicious.

The stranger laughed, "Fair enough, you aren't actually my uncle, but I have called you that since I was able to speak. I am from the future and I need you to keep what I am about to tell you just between us. I need an ally here and you are the one I can trust the most to not say something you shouldn't."

"You are from the future?" Andrew looked puzzled and then said, "Well, Jasper is a kind of stone so does that make you one of Darien's Generals in the future?"

Jasper looked pleased, "Nope, but really good guess. Can I have your promise that you won't say anything to the rest of the group?"

"You can have my promise that, if I believe you, I will use my best discretion when sharing information with others. Take it or leave it." Andrew leaned back in his seat and waited for the response.

"Deal. Well, I am not only from the future, but I am also the son of Jadeite and Molly. You and my father are really close friends so I have always referred to you as Uncle Andrew. The two of you are Darien's closest friends and in the future you and dad still fight over who would have been his Best Man."

Andrew looked owl eyed at Jasper and let out a long breath, "Wow… well how… there is so much that I want to ask you. I don't know where to start." He paused and then made a decision, "Why come back in time. What are you trying to accomplish?"

Jasper smiled and said, "That is exactly what I thought you would ask first. You always have a way of cutting to the heart of the matter. I am here to stop the future that I have come from. In at least a month, but maybe longer, an alien egg filled with dark energy will be hidden on this planet and left to grow. Once it hatches, that will take six months, it will release a large source of evil. In my timeline that source was left undetected and it infected Darien and Serena's daughter turning her evil and causing her to fight against us with a group called Black Onyx." He paused and let Andrew start to digest all of that information.

"So we just have to destroy an egg and everything will be fine?"

"First I need to find the egg and then we need to destroy it. No one was able to figure out where it was buried since it had hatched long before it infected Celestine." Jasper explained.

"I take it Celestine is their daughter." Andrew stated and leaned forward resting on his elbows.

"Yup."

Andrew thought for a minute, "Why pick me?"

"You are like a vault when it comes to information in the future. Believe it or not, but everyone knows you are trustworthy and a trusted confidant of King Endymion. There is an expression that people use when they are explaining they will keep a secret, 'It will be like you told Andrew.' The implication of course being that the secret is safe."

"Wow, just… really? I am that well known in Japan?"

Jasper laughed, "Actually it is said in every language on Earth. I think people actually started the expression in Monaco of all places."

Andrew ran his hand through his hair, "It is a lot to take in. Where are you staying tonight? Do you need a place to stay?"

Jasper looked at him, "You just met me and you are offering me a place to stay?"

"Shouldn't your uncle invite you?" Andrew asked, amused with how shocked Jasper looked.

"You trust me already?"

"I do." Andrew paused and said, "So are you going to tell me who I marry?"

"Do you really want me to?"

"You told me that Jadeite and Molly marry," Andew reasoned.

Jasper rolled his eyes, "One they are already engaged, two I haven't told them that."

"True." Andrew stood and then said, "You keep talking while I finish closing up, follow me over to the counter. I have to restock napkins first."

Jasper stood and walked over with Andrew, "What do you want to know?"

"Do I call you by your real name or do we hide that because of your parents?"

"So, you have decided to keep the secret?" Jasper looked pleased.

"Did you really doubt I would?"

"No, but it is nice to be sure you already agree."

"Yes, I agree to keep the secret. Now you can tell me what you are hiding. Something must have happened to make you feel like you had no chance in the future to fix things and you had to come to the past."

"I can't tell you everything. For right now will you accept the fact that I will admit that is true, but I don't want to tell you?" Jasper hoped Andrew would be okay with it.

"I can and I appreciate the truth."

"I will stick with that. If there is something I don't feel I should say I will tell you and I won't lie to you about it. Can you accept that I will be lying to others and believe that I am truthful with you?"

"I will try. If I am struggling with it I will let you know." Andrew hoped what he said sounded fair.

"Fair enough for me." Jasper paused and shook his head. "It is weird to be in the position where I know more than you."

"I am going to be honest and admit I don't get why anyone would have heard about me." Andrew tried to fathom being known world wide.

"Well you know about Crystal Tokyo.,,,"

"No I don't."

"Oh, wow. Well, the Earth will eventually come under attack and Serena and Darien will save it as Endymion and Serenity, the whole of Earth will look to them as leaders. He becomes King Endymion and she becomes Neo-Queen Serenity and she brokers alliances with planets from all over the galaxy. You are Darien's right hand man and everyone knows it."

"What?! I serve the King of Earth? "

"Well, actually yes, but you also serve Neo-Queen Serenity who is the Queen of the whole solar system. Hence her Sailor Scouts being from different planets."

"That is a lot to take in. Wait, and their child has become part of Dark Onyx… shit. I just figured it out. Serena is dead isn't she?" Andrew grew upset.

Jasper looked shocked and slowly nodded his head. "I didn't want to say something because it will be hard not to let on that you know."

"I get it. Dang It. Now their daughter who is possessed by dark energy rules the solar system and Darien is a wreck so he isn't any help." Andrew managed to quickly reason out.

"You got it in one guess. It was just awful. You can't imagine the sorrow I have experienced lately both suffered by others and myself. It has been a particularly hard time."

"I hope to never experience that. So, what do I need to do to save my friends and their child?"

"I need you to convince them to help me to find an evil alien energy egg and trust that I am here to make the future better. And yes you can use my real name."

"You will tell them you are from the future?"

"It is too easy to slip and let something out I know. So yes, and it would explain to them how I know them. I feel I need to give them something so that they will trust me." Jasper hoped that was the right decision.

"Okay, well that works for me… We discussed this already didn't we?"

"What do you mean?"

"You and future me planned this out didn't we?" Andrew didn't know how he knew that, but he did.

"Yes we did. It was your idea in the first place to send me back and to find the egg. I am really good with detecting alien power and tracking, you approached me."

"That is strange to think about. Do you have a place to stay?"

"Yes, you told me about the apartment building Darien lived in and I rented a place there."

"Seems like we had this all planned then." Andrew smiled.

"Mostly yes, we figured whatever adjustments needed to be made could be done by the two of us." Jasper told him honestly, he was pleased with this Andrew.

"I need to head home, I have class in the morning and I am getting a headache. I need a little time to process everything you told me."

"Hey, this is already going according to our best case scenario. Here," Jasper handed Andrew a piece of paper. "This has my phone number on it, call me any time. I will call you tomorrow."

"Don't you need my number?"

"You already gave it to me." Jasper smiled at him. "I will head to my apartment, I also wrote the address down for you. Good night."

"Good night."

That night Andrew closed up with his head filled with the future and what he needed to be doing to help Jasper and save Serena. It sounded like the whole galaxy would suffer without her, but he was most worried about Darien.


End file.
